


two-faced lovers

by a_dino



Category: Dream Team - Fandom, Dreamwastaken, GeorgeNotFound - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, mcyt
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Complex Emotions, Drug Dealing, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone is Badass, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, I’m making this up as I go, Language!, M/M, Plot Twists, Relationship Development, Song Inspired, Violence, chess references, dream is a hitman, dream team, george is sensitive lol, injuries, really fucking poetic for some reason, sad George
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 36,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25931422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_dino/pseuds/a_dino
Summary: dream never felt the need for a significant other. his job was simple: kill all threats to the rebel army. a hitman tasked to kill the king, the owner of a lively nightclub in vegas.that was, until george stumbled into his life, that his mission shifted down another path.what dream doesn’t quite understand is why george is so familiar to him. the boy was a mystery dream was dying to uncover.in this world, they meet again.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 83
Kudos: 514





	1. he, the boy on the dance floor

his eyes were like scanners, like the ones that observe every little detail about someone. the judgmental type, that spotted everything he hated about someone. 

he sat at that bar, in the same bar stool, always looking beyond the crowd, as if he wanted to spot something that pleased him. every day he’d see the same thing, no out of the ordinary people. no one that catches his eye. 

many lavish woman, even men. many that were attractive, but none that kept his eye on them. not until he spotted him. that boy in the black turtle neck, with a short sleeve blue shirt over it, and black jeans. he had the biggest smile plastered on his face as he danced the night away on the dance floor, his diamond earrings reflecting from the disco lights that hit them. the drink in his hand was barely holding on as his movements made the liquid bounce around and spill. 

suddenly, dream couldn’t take his eyes away from him. he was interested, intrigued as to how the boy seemed to have no worries in the world, how he spun around and laughed without worrying about what people were mumbling around him. he seemed so careless, and dream hated it. he hated how he stood out, wanting to be different. 

from the corner of his eye, dream spotted a young girl approaching him. she sat in the bar stool next to dream and striked a conversation with him, admiring how the night was endless. dream had heard the girl, merely replying with a chuckle while still looking at the boy. she kept talking into his ear, and at some point he had heard her suggest that they leave together. 

but in that moment, all dream could see was how the boy suddenly fell onto his knees, his grasp on his drink loosening and hitting the floor, before the boy too fell all the way, his face hitting the dance floor. dreams eyes widened a bit, and couldn’t help but wonder if he was drunk and had just passed out. that was until he saw an older man kneel down in front of the boy. he ran his hand through the boys hair and then proceeded to pick up the boy, swinging him on his shoulder and walking towards the back exit.

if that wasn’t sketchy enough, dream would’ve simply ignored it and continued his conversation. but the boy was already imbedded into his head, and he quickly excused himself from the lady and followed the suspicious man. the back exit only led into a long, dark and ominous alley. he heard shuffling coming from beyond the door and dream pressed against the brick wall, intently listening to the man and boy, the door cracked open so he could hear. 

“alright boy, this is what’s gonna happen; you’re coming back with me to a hotel and you’re gonna be my little pet for the night, ok?” the older man questioned the boy, and he heard a small groan coming from the boy followed my a whimper that set dreams ears on overload

“please, let me go sir..” dreams eyes widened. the boys voice was soft, with an obvious accent and trembling voice. he seemed scared out of his mind, and he kept hearing whimpers coming from the boy. suddenly, he felt the wall shake as he heard a thud coming from the other side, and by the sound of it, assumed the stupid man had pushed the boy against the wall. 

“listen here you little shit, you don’t have a fucking say in this, now, stop fucking crying and get in the car.” the man shouted. he could hear shuffling, he could hear the boy fighting back and almost screaming, pleading. 

“shut the fuck up!” the man yelled again and suddenly hear a slap. dream couldn’t stand by anymore and he walked towards the door, slowly opening it and looking at the man as he beat down on the boy. dream hated being mad, nothing good ever came out of it. 

he grabbed the older man and sucker punched him as he fell on the ground, the proceeded to kick him in the stomach, in the face, and finally, in his groin. the man groaned and lay there, almost motionless. he looked back the boy, and saw he was unconscious, laying in a sort of open fetal position, his nose bleeding and cuts surrounding his cheeks.

he didn’t know why he gave a flying fuck about the boy, or why he had decided to get so worked up and beat up a man to death for him. he just knew, that somehow, he couldn’t take his eyes off the boy, and felt the sudden need to take care of him. after all, he wasn’t going to leave him out in the cold. 

he picked up the boy bridal style and walked out of the alley towards his car. he would take the boy to a hotel and make sure he was safe. he heard keys jingle in the boys pocket, and once he had placed him inside his car, took out the keys and wallet from his pocket, reading the information.

george, his name was george, and he was 23 years old. 

he saw an address, but debated against it and decided to take him to a hotel anyways. as he drove off, all he could think about was him, how mysterious he was, and what a pussy the boy sounded like. 

he’s the first one that he sees, and he doesn’t know why, he doesn’t know who he is. he, george.


	2. knock knock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream decided to leave

the car ride through the city was quiet and long. dream had decided not to put any music on as to not disturb the boy. he drove for about thirty minutes from where the club was before arriving at a small inn. it looked sketch but it would have to do for now. 

dream took his keys and got out of the car. he had parked in front of the check in office so he wouldn’t walk so far. george was so mysterious to him, and he didn’t know why he bothered doing all this, he was starting to regret it.

“here is the keycard, enjoy your stay!” the front end lady gave dream a smile and he quickly mumbled a thank you as he walked back to the car. his eyes widened and he just about dropped his keys as he saw the door to his car wide open. he quickly rushed over to the back of the car and saw the boy on the ground, clutching his stomach and pool of yellow bile besides him. he was unconscious and breathing heavily, which confused dream even more. he quickly picked the boy up and headed up towards their room. 

it took him a minute to find it and he quickly opened the door and placed the boy on the bed. he rummaged through a bathroom cabinet and to no avail found nothing that could help the boy. dream grabbed a small towel and wet it, then walked back into the other room and proceeded to clean the boys face. 

george was really pale, awfully pale which was not normal. his face had the slightest tints of green as his sweat caused his forehead to shine. he was still taking long heavy breathes and every so often mumbled unrecognizable things. he twitched ever so slightly as dream tucked him into the bed, then he himself prepared his own little bed on the floor. 

when morning came, he was the first to wake up. he checked on the boy and saw his face had returned to its normal color, but his cheeks had a slight tint of pink cross them, and he was taking slower but deeper breathes. dream couldn’t help but stare at george’s scrawny figure, he was shorter than him but the boy looked fragile even without the height difference.

the more he looked at him the more intrigued he become. he didn’t know what would become of this boy. he packed his things and before he closed the door of the Inn, he looked back at the boy who continued to sleep. 

sometimes, encounters are merely random.

dream leaned back on the door of the room. he stood there for what seemed like forever, and he was having a mental war with himself. 

‘is this the right thing to do?’ dream thought to himself. he couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy inside the room. he felt like he was abandoning someone on the brink of death. he sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes. the sun beams pierced themselves into dreams skin, and his forehead started to sweat from the hot and humid air that surrounded him. he looked into his hands and saw the key card that he was supposed to leave in the room. 

“shit, i have to go back inside.” he mumbled and proceeded to open the door. dream let himself in, as well as the sun which lit up the corner of the room where the boy was resting. dreams eyes widened slightly, and his hand rested on the door knob as he stared at the boy who had sat up on the bed. his small figure was covered by the white bed sheet, and he was looking behind him at the other room which was the bathroom. he slowly turned his head to look at dream, and shifted so that his body was facing him. he silently looked dream up and down, before rubbing his eyes and proceeding to inch himself off the bed.

“w-who are you-“ he exhaled out as his legs made contact with the floor, and unable to hold himself up, collapsed on himself. dream quickly rushed over to the boy and crouched down in front of him. the boy put all his strength into his arms as he pushed himself up so that he was in a sitting position rather than sprawled on the floor. 

“hey, take it easy. let’s get you back on the bed.” dream said softly. he was worried now, and saw as the boys face paled once again. the same paleness he saw the night he met him. the boy put a hand over his mouth and looked up at dream, his eyes starting to water. dream instantly took the hint and picked up the boy, carrying him to the bathroom, basically kicking the door open and sitting him down next to the toilet. 

the boy vomited into the toilet, emptying out everything in his stomach. the heaving and small whimpers didn’t sit comfortable in dreams ears, but he felt for the boy who was struggling to breathe. he gave small pats on the boys back and after a while, the boy wiped his mouth and let small tears fall from his eyes. 

“thank you, but, who are you?” 

dream grabbed a small towel that hung on a rack and wet it. he pressed the towel against the boys face and wiped away at the dirty spots he had around his mouth. 

“my name’s dream.” it wasn’t his real name, but he saw no reason why he should tell the boy his real name. the brown haired boy look up at dream who towered over him and smiled. 

“i’m george. sorry for all the trouble i’ve caused you. may i ask where are we?” he asked. dreams mouth formed a straight line. he took in george’s physical appearance, saw how his hair slightly curled at the ends and how his eyes were a deep chocolate brown. he knew that if the sun hit george’s eyes, they would glow in a beautiful hazel color. 

“we’re at a motel inn, it was the closest place i could find around here.” dream said blatantly. george sighed and rested his head against the wall. he looked down at his hands, turning them around as if inspecting them. dream caught a glimpse of the bruising around his wrists, seeming to be old markings as they didn’t look too defined. 

“what happened to you?” he asked george, and the boys eyes widened a bit before hiding his wrists. he shuffled and grabbed onto the toilet seat, pushing himself up to his feet. dream sat up quickly and made sure they boy wouldn’t collapse on himself again. 

“nothing, im fine. just fell.” george gritted his teeth and continued to walk slowly out of the bathroom. he sat on the edge of the bed and looked around, taking in his surroundings once more. 

dream leaned against the wall and stared at the boy. he was so mysterious and weird. his eyebrows furrowed as he saw the paleness of the boy, the messiness of his hair and the frightened look he constantly had. god he looked like such a pussy. dream scoffed, what kind of thoughts were going through his head. he felt like an asshole just thinking about them. his eyes landed back on george and the smaller boy was already looking at him. both their eyes widened slightly and they continued to stare at each other.

it was like time slowed down, and the air around them tightened. george looked into dreams emerald eyes, the brown specks that surrounded his pupils looked like snow on the pavement, though in yellow. george couldn’t distinguish the colors, but he knew they were a color he has never seen before. dream looked into george’s chocolate brown eyes, and he wondered how the sun would turn them into a hazel nut color, displaying as a beautiful chocolate pool. 

they stared into each other’s person, they analyzed so much from just each other’s eyes, and it was a movie scene if they were in one. 

a knock at the door broke the silence and both boys looked at the door. dream headed towards to door, room service was awfully late if that’s what was going on. 

georges breathe hitched and he ran after dream, grabbing his wrist which was already on the door knob. 

“don’t open it! please! i think it’s him!” george pleaded, with tears that pricked at the corner of his eyes. dream looked at george, their hands resting on each other.

the knocks only got louder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really short chapter :( i got writers block


	3. the man in the lobby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a closer interaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW : slight mention of abuse/manipulation

_ “welcome home...” _

_ “what took you so long to open the door?” _

_ “i was doing something.”  _

_ “yeah right..”  _

george’s legs wobbled as he struggled to keep his balance. the overwhelming memories that burst their way into his head started to give him a headache. he thought about things he didn’t want to remember. the knocking on the door had ceased temporarily, and george let himself slide down to the floor. he was truly exhausted, and the migraine that took over his head caused him great pain. 

“hey man, what’s going on?” dream let go of the doorknob, and sat next to the boy on the floor. 

“my head, it hurts so bad.” george mumbled, his hands holding his head in place, covering his ears so the ringing could stop. 

“who were you talking about?” dream raised an eyebrow. 

_ “i’m not lying.” _

_ “shut up.”  _

the smaller boy exhaled slowly as he grabbed onto the edge of the bed and pulled himself up to his feet. he walked towards his belongings and grabbed his wallet. 

“no one. i have to go.” his voice monotone. george walked towards the door dream was standing over, and as he put his hand on the door knob, dream pressed his arm against the door. 

the taller boy towered over george, and his arm rested above george’s head. the arm that was against the door prevented george from opening it. 

“where are you going?” he asked the boy. 

“i need to go back, i’ll be in trouble if i don’t.” george looked anywhere but at dream. he looked at the yellow and blue patterned floor, it originally being of green and blue. 

dream reached down with his other arm and grabbed george by the chin, slowly turning his head up towards him. 

“who are you going back to?” he asked sternly. george gulped, diverting his eyes from dreams. the contact they were making started to excite his heart, and he could feel it start to thump harder against his chest. 

“i asked you a question.” 

george was suddenly pushed onto the bed, supporting himself as he propped up one arm and bent one leg. dream crawled over him and leaned down till his mouth was next to george’s ear.

“i saw the bruises, what’s going on?” dream whispered into george’s ear, and he nibbled softly on his outer shell. 

george whimpered, and lay there as his hands shook all the way up to grab onto dreams shoulder. dream pulled away, looking into the boys eyes, those same eyes now looking at his own. 

_ “don’t come home late next time.”  _

_ “i won’t, i promise.”  _

“i’m sorry, i don’t know what got into me.” dream covered his face and moved away from george to the corner of the room. 

george frowned, and took this as his queue to leave. things had gotten out of hand, and he reminded himself this was just a stranger to him. he spotted a pen and phone book on the nightstand and reached for it. he quickly scribbled on the cover page before taking his belongings and walking towards the door. 

as he opened it, he looked back at dream and smiled. he couldn’t help but feel familiar around the taller man. 

“thank you, for trying to save me.” he mumbled the last part, intending for dream not to hear it. he shut the door quietly, and took his own route. 

dream heard his mumbles, he looked at the phone book and smirked. 

“idiot.” 

of course after all, he’d take the same route as george, again. 

it was chilly when george exited the hotel room. he had not expected to stay at a random inn with a stranger, and he certainly hadn’t brought a sweater or jacket. the temperature had drastically decreased since yesterday afternoon, and though the sun was out, it’s rays did not bring warmth on the skin. 

he looked down at himself, seeing his baby blue shirt had small stains on them. his joggers were still intact, though he saw small, wet spots plastered over them, having dried up overnight. george couldn’t remember what had happened that night at the club. he remembered arriving with his friends, well not exactly his friends, but his partners friends. as the night went on, he lost track of them and instead started drinking with some older men. after that, his mind became fuzzy and he couldn’t recall how exactly he had ended up with this random man.

the inn was partially vacant besides the few cars parked outside every other room. they were next to a highway and george sighed as he realized he’d have to walk all the way home. in this case, it was about impossible as he lived about twenty minutes from the club, and he was nowhere near the club. 

“no way you’re gonna walk home, i can give you a ride.” 

he turned around as the door to the room he was just in closed. dream walked out with his keys dangling from his hand, he held a green hoodie in his other hand, and extended his arm towards george.

“take it, you look cold.” dream smiled 

george’s face turned a slight shade of pink, and he looked away before grabbing the hoodie from the mans hand. to him it was a strong shade of yellow. 

“thank you..” he mumbled quietly as he pulled the hoodie over his head. it was warm, and he could smell the cologne that radiated from the material. it smelled like mixtures of outdoor-like smells, and it was sure as hell manly. george looked back up at dream and analyzed the mans physical features. he was rather tall, of course taller than george, and he had more muscle than george. his dirty blonde locks of hair sometimes fell in front of his face, and george couldn’t help but admit the man was absolutely gorgeous. 

“is your name really dream?” george asked to break the silence. it did come out rather weirdly to george that someone would actually be named dream

“no, but it’s a nickname i guess.” dream walked towards the smaller man and grabbed onto the hood of the sweater, pulling it over george’s head. he grabbed the two hoodie strings and pulled them towards him, causing the hood to close in on george’s face.

he chuckled and walked past george, hearing as the boy let out small panic noises, trying to reopen the hood. 

“whatever.” george bit the inside of his cheek and followed the man. they approached a black luxury car and george stood in front of it, baffled at the expensive appearance of the car

dream turned to face him as he opened the drivers door, “getting in?” dream asked the bewildered boy. george swallowed and proceeded to get into the passenger seat of the car

“it’s a nice car, what do you even do for a living?” he asked dream. there was a moment of awkward silence before he answered 

“i have different jobs, i guess you could say.” 

george didn’t bother asking what that meant, he took the hint that it was obviously something private. they exchanged addresses for where to drop off george, and as dream drove down the highway, george lay his head against the window. he started to doze off, closing his eyes to satisfy his tiredness. he didn’t know who this man was in any personal way, but the time he has spent with him has resulted far better than any other day in george’s life. 

_ “don’t be late again.” _

he opened his eyes, looking off into the distance as the city came into view, seeing the tall buildings which towered over the smaller ones. he was so used to seeing the world from a high view. he never really put himself below the 50 floors he lived over, but as they drove into the city, he saw how beautiful the little shops looked on the street. the people that walked with their significant other, their kids, or their families. 

_ “you know what happens when you’re late.” _

george could never have nice things, and he didn’t want to let go of this random encounter. it was something unique that came into his life, far different from everything else. 

“we’re here.” dream broke george out of his thoughts as he put the car in park. to the side stood a tall apartment complex, and if dream had to guess, he’d say it was about fifty floors. 

george stepped out of the car, closing the door with a soft push before stepping onto the sidewalk. he looked back at dream and smiled

“thanks for the ride- for everything. don’t become a stranger, yeah?” he looked away blushing, and felt his legs wobble a little as he walked towards the doors. george spotted a familiar man standing in the lobby, his arms crossed and a straight expression plastered on his face. george’s eyes widened, and he clenched onto dreams hoodie. he had forgotten he was wearing it, and things would not sit well with the man waiting for him. 

he hesitated, standing at the doors as he locked eyes with the man. he gulped before his shaky hand reached for the door. 

“hey george?” dream shouted from his car

george looked back with a worried expression 

“i’ll come back, ok? just wait.” dream had a serious tone, and he glanced over at the man staring from the lobby, shooting daggers as he prepared to drive away. 

once george entered the complex, he heard as dream drove away, and he felt naked all over again. the man walked up to him, standing before him as his tall figure made george look small. 

“well hello there.” the man said with a small smile. he raised his hand and george flinched, expecting much harsher contact. instead, the man just pat george’s head, slightly gripping his hair as he pulled george in close to his mouth.

“we’ll talk once we’re alone, ok babe?” 

_‘ah yes, babe’_ george thought. the grip on his hair got tighter for a second, before he felt the hand release. 

he followed behind his boyfriend, head down and hands hiding in dreams hoodie pockets. 

the elevator dinged as it opened 

george swallowed hard as he saw the elevator doors close, shutting the contact between him and the outside world once again. 


	4. aesthetic affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> be your own reason to accomplish great things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> italics can be seen as events/thoughts from the past

_ there was never such a thing as pity for dream. kids are taught to grow up feeling empathy, to know when to be able to connect with someone else’s emotions. after all, it was a basic human instinct. everyone has at some point felt pity, sympathy, happiness or guilt for someone other than themselves, and dream was the master of feeling things.  _

_ so why the hell was he so heartless now?  _

_ he had simply just gotten himself involved with the wrong crowd, and there was no way he was quitting now. the job was awfully easy, just eliminate the target in any way. yes, eliminate, kill, murder, wipe them off the face of the ear, whatever you want to call it. boss was straightforward with it, giving a profile on the victim that included their photo ID, address, work place, etc. that was boss’s job, and dreams job was to hunt them down. dream was a hitman. _

_ maybe that’s were things started to go wrong, when he no longer felt sorry for people who were murdered. news channels would constantly talk about deaths, whether it was caused by something natural or a person gone mad, it was always revolving around death. the word is thrown around on a daily basis, and it has become so normalized that for some people it has no real meaning anymore. death is just a part of everyday life, and there is no reason to put it off or sugar coat it’s impending outcome. eventually, everyone will knock on deaths door.  _

_ dream couldn’t exactly count how many people have died by his hands, how many people he robbed for their lives. business men, mothers, fathers, people with a life of their own. he lost track after some time, becoming completely disassociated from the real world. the identity he developed was this horrid complexion of insanity. to clarify, he wasn’t insane, but rather he was becoming the version of himself his mother didn’t want him to be.  _

_ “my boy, you have to become the person people can rely on, someone that will save the world. right now it seems like you can only do so much, but believe that one day you will change someone’s life forever.”  _

_ his mothers words resonated within him, and he only felt a type of discomfort when he thought about his mother, his poor mother.  _

_ before arriving in the city of vegas, dream was tasked to take down a scumbag of a man. club l’amour was home to one of the biggest dirty underground businesses. it was always busy, which made a well knit nest for heads of production, no one would suspect any illegal action from a club for older men.  _

_ but boss was always one step ahead, handing dream a fat stacked profile of the man in question. trafficking, drugs, boys, illegal profit, words dream has encountered on multiple profiles over the last few years. disgusting as it was, his job was to take out this man, one simple task. _

_ so then how did dream end up taking care of a sick, drugged up boy? he had spent some time checking out the place, finding cracks in the system as he got closer and closer to his target.  _

_ distractions are considered mistakes. once you get distracted, you lose sight of the real motive. distractions can cause mistakes, and you can’t fix these mistakes, but rather dig a new path towards the objective.  it’s strange, how you can so easily lose track of something you’ve lived your whole life up to, and in an instant, merely a second, you have to start all over.  _

_ so dream was upset, he had the right to be. he let himself care about a random boy he had no connection with. seeing him stumble on the dance floor, being manhandled by older men, it ticked something off deep down inside dream, and he had the same mental fight with himself about getting involved.  _

_ when he was in that hotel room, he couldn’t help but think he had failed, and though he wasn’t going to take out his target that same night, he felt like he was wasting time by looking after the sick boy.  _

_ there are different types of attraction; sexual, sensual, romantic, platonic, and aesthetic. there are many more different forms, some being subgroups of the five main types. people commonly associate attraction with a romantic connotation.  _

_ in dreams case, it was nothing like that. he merely found the smaller boy aesthetically attractive, how he danced the night away with no shame, as if he was the only on on that dance floor. he was the owner that night, catching the eyes of men from different titles, business men, gambling men, horny men, you name it. brown locks of hair which danced alongside him, bouncing up and down as the boy swirled with passion. eyes that were half lidded from the alcohol coursing through his veins, he was truly a masterpiece to be reckoned with.  _

_ so when dream carried the younger boy to safety, he questioned his motives. this wasn’t part of the job, and he sure as hell didn’t know why he cared so much about a boy who was just asking for it.  _

_ ‘ah, yes’ dream though. asking for it, in what way? in no way, he was simply enjoying the night like everyone else in that club. dirty old men just don’t have any self control when they see younger men.  _

_ ‘old men seeing younger man’ he repeated it in his head. over and over again until he was able to make sense of it.  _

_ ‘old men seeing younger man in a bar’ _

_ ‘younger man’  _

_ it suddenly clicked in dreams head, he had realized it while driving down the highway that morning. he’d glance over at the form of the small boy, who had his head against the window. he looked exhausted, and the bruises on his wrist made their second appearance. a young man had no other reason to be at a bar full of old men, unless that was his type. but no, dream had spotted another group of younger men, all around the same age. plus there was him, who was simply there to observe.  _

_ out of everyone in that bar, it was only them that were younger than the average age group. so who really was this boy? _

_———_

dream pulled over to the side of the road as to let the boy out of the car. he lived in a rather tall apartment complex, and it baffled dream as to how a young man had such wealth to purchase a condo for himself in vegas. 

and then he appeared 

black suit with a white dress shirt, fancy fucking shoes and a watch that was probably a couple thousand dollars. he stood ominously as he watched george enter the complex, and as dreams grip on the steering wheel tightened, he started to think that maybe after all, he was a genius.

somehow, he dug his path straight to his target, without ever losing a trace. this boy was the key to it all. aesthetic affection, what a wonderful thing. 


	5. the smartest pawn in the playbook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you won’t always have the same strengths as others; and that’s what makes you unique

george couldn’t help but look down at the ground all the time. whenever he was being talked to he had the bad habit of looking at the floor, the pavement, the carpet, whatever, whenever. he couldn’t handle confrontation in that manner, and his brain became mushy whenever he was forced to interact eye to eye. so instead, he resorted to never doing so in the first place. 

social anxiety, that’s the word. george perfectly held that word in his arms, welcoming it inside his home that was his body. it didn’t bother to take its dirty shoes off, opened doors without closing them, and paced through rooms as if it owned the fucking place. one could only watch and let it take over, and even if it started to break things, throwing and shattering objects, you wouldn’t try to stop it. and so george stood there, watching as it tore apart all the valuable things in his little home. all the potential relationships he could’ve establish, all his connections and memories, then only left with a fucking mess. 

the elevator dinged as its doors closed, confining george and the other man in its small space. he felt as his hands started to tremble lightly, and he cursed himself for showing any weakness in front of his superior. that was always something he hated about himself, how he showed even the slightest bit of discomfort through his physical movements. he had no filter, and it was a gateway for others to easily run through. 

cold arms wrapped around his small body, pulling him into a tight gripped hug. they aimlessly traced around his shoulders and down to his arms, causing them to tremble as goosebumps ran down his entire body. he was frozen, unable to move a limb as he let the other man outline him like a drawing. a cold hand was placed on his chin, grasping it and forcefully turning his entire head up towards his superior. he was met with an unnerving stare, eyes that looked right through his clothes, his skin, his entire existence and into his soul. it sent chills down his spine, and his body trembled as a whole now, becoming evidently visible to the other man. 

another hand tightened around his arm, inflicting small discomfort that provoked a whimper. the man moved george’s head around as if examining him, making sure he was perfect and untouched, then directing his head back in the original direction. 

“you’ve been busy haven’t you? where did you run off to?” the man said in a menacing tone. he talked to george like he was a fucking dog, questioning him like a teen who went out without permission. george looked anywhere but directly at the mans eyes. he felt the grip on his chin tighten; and this time it hurt. 

“look at me.” the man said more loudly. 

_ ‘god this fucking elevator is dragging ass to get to the top.’  _

“george.”

_ ‘stop shaking, it’ll only make it worse.’ _

“george.” 

_ ‘ah here it is, the 50th floor’ _

“look at me you fucking little shit!” the man screamed this time. he used his other hand to grip george’s hair, pulling on it to make the smaller boy feel some pain. the brunette whimpered, eyes peering at eyes, before the elevator dinged once more, opening its doors that welcomed them onto floor fifty. 

the man sighed as he let go of both grips on george, letting the younger look back at the floor.george felt like a little boy, the littlest boy there could ever be, and he hid in the green oversized hoodie that did not belong to him. there was that smell again, that deep scent of cologne that didn’t seem to wear off. he felt an inexplicable comfort from the sweater, embraced by warmness and kindness that came from a stranger. 

the best kind of reassurance comes from people you don’t know, those who have no personal connection to you, a complete mystery to the hippocampus. sometimes it’s as if strangers know you better than acquaintances, friends, and even family. but he debunked his own reasoning, as he knew nothing about dream. the most he knew was how he gave off a mysterious vibe, purposely keeping his life a secret as if it was dangerous to share the slightest bit of detail.

apartment complexes were never a luxury to george. sure they were bordered with expensive looking wallpaper, furniture that took up too much fucking space and huge windows that revealed beautiful sceneries of vegas; but at night were shadows in the corner of the room that haunted george’s dreams, and the man himself was like a shadow hallucination to george’s sleep paralysis. 

always watching, always lurking around. there was no way for george to escape from someone who was imbedding themselves to his already formed shadow. when the sun beams down on you, a shadow begins to follow you around. everyone has their respective shade, another side to their soul, a two-faced human body. 

george has three faces, and he couldn’t get ride of the man in the suit, so that only left himself. 

as he walked into their spaced out apartment, he noticed the gradual buildup of ripped newspapers and detailed profiles hung up on the white walls. their place was a heist room waiting to get discovered, and george sighed at the photos that were evenly spread out on the marble kitchen table. 

_ ‘boys with blonde wavy locks  _

_ boys with raven black personalities  _

_ boy with quiet tones  _

_ boys boys boys  _

_ pictures of boys everywhere _

_ ah and, boy with brown hair, colorblind, beat up face; the crime lords chess piece’  _

eyes blanked, transparent and with no emotion; and all he could was stare at himself through that photo, becoming disgusted with what he was represented as. he was merely the pawn in a playbook. 

george wasn’t allowed to have a cellphone, it being a threat that he could at any point let authorities know of their illegal business. he would be taken to the club alongside the lord and his followers, tasked to attract potential buyers, selling himself out like a male prostitute. no, he wouldn’t fuck them, but instead attract them to buy someone else. george wasn’t for sale, but he’d betray those young men who’s photos hung on the wall. 

the green hoodie was brought over his head, thrown to the other side of the bed like a used rag. pale skin which resembled snow whites, and countless bruising like that of an old banana. george lay there as he felt the hits against his stomach, his legs, arms and face. he lay there as he felt his body crying for help, overwhelming with pain in a new spot every second, triggering the tears in his eyes which always stained his lids overnight. 

he always craved human contact, not the sexual kind though. he wanted to be held tightly, but not to the point where it hurt. wanted to feel warmness around his whole body, but not the feeling of his cells exploding. george wanted to be saved, not like a locked away princess, but rather like a stranger saves another stranger, because that’s the beauty that restores faith in humanity. 

and so george wrote his number down inside the phone book. though he was sensitive and weak, he wasn’t stupid. trap phones are a genius thing you see, you should always have a backup. hidden in a flower pot by the back alley of the club, no one would find it unless purposely looking. 

george wasn’t stupid, he was the smartest one in the organization, why else would they want him tagging alongside the lord? 

all their plans, their money, their getaways, it was all thanks to george. 

little genius 

———

dream looked down at the phone number in his hands and he pondered long and hard, _‘_ _ he’s an idiot, but he’s asking for my help ’.  _

he clenched onto the piece of paper, and continued to drive down the same highway he had just come from. tonight would be his second attempt at observing the lord and his followers at the club. 

and on the side, keep his word and look for the small brunette who’s life he held in his hands. 


	6. the king and his chessmen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pawns  
> rooks  
> knights  
> bishops   
> the king

club l’amour was at its peak that night. many higher ups would start coming in around midnight, whether it was for business purposes or purely to have some fun. it was a well built structure, with the main entrance just off las vegas boulevard; located neighborly to paris las vegas hotel and casino, a minutes walk away from the heart of the strip. it was know to be one of the busiest areas in vegas apart from fremont street. 

club l’amour had a nice ring to the theme of paris las vegas, and they tried to keep up its reputation by attracting the wealthy who lived just off the strip. the club itself has one of the most beautiful structures, with big, thin glossy windows surrounding the main lobby area. but due to safety and underground procedures, the main playground was covered by thick white walls and only windows on the bottom floor. the dance floor itself covered a large portion of the first level, leaving room for a bar and lounge perimeter. above the dance floor was a large dangling disco ball imbedded into a crystal chandelier that reflected in sync with the lights at night. 

nothing seemed suspicious about the nightclub, and even law enforcement saw it as a regular attraction to the people. it made things much easier for the lord, king of the night. 

———

george started to get dressed for the night; the king wanted them to wear a waiters uniform from now on to further conceal suspicions that grew about the number of young boys present. not all their customers were businessmen, some were business women, others just there to have fun with friends. people would eventually get suspicious if they saw others doing business upfront, that’s why they created the second floor; that’s where all the action took place.

the brunette looked at himself in the mirror attached to the wall, admiring how perfectly the black dress shirt and pants fit him. skinny red suspenders attached to his pants and over his back, and he shakily unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt. the king wanted them to show a little skin, after all they were being seen as objects to be sold, sexualized against their own will. he proceeded to put on a pair of black cotton gloves designated to conceal their cut and bruised up hands. now he was ready, and he glanced at himself in the mirror one last time, smiling at how handsome he was feeling. it was rare when he was pleased with his physical appearance, and the uniform did a good job at making them all look clean and professional. 

the black matte doors of their apartment opened simultaneously; the king walked in, dressed in a dark red dress shirt, a black vest over it, and finally a tightly fit black suit to finish it off. he looked like royalty, and would most certainly stand out in the crowd. he held what looked like a black strap choker in his hand, and it made small bell jingles as he walked over to george. 

“here, turn around would you?” he sounded excited, it was rare whenever the king was truly happy and not in a bad mood. he constantly took out his anger on the pawns and rooks, and so the only time he was truly calm and nice was before heading out to the club.

george hummed in response and quickly turned around, his back towards the man. he felt as the choker grasped his neck, and the cold metal that dangled from it. once it was clasped on, the man turned george around swiftly, hands gripping each side of george’s arms.

“it looks great, see for yourself.” he turned george towards the mirror, and the younger widened his eyes slightly. the choker had a small silver bell attached to it, the source of the small jingles he heard earlier. 

“what do you say little one?” the king whispered into his ear, his thumb and pointer finger grabbing george’s chin, squishing his cheeks together as his grip tightened. 

george looked at the ground before muttering a quick “thank you.” 

“thank you what?” he tightened his grip again, and george whimpered at the harsh contact 

“thank you  amour .” 

———

the club was as lively as ever, people were hanging out at the front entrance, the lobby was full of handsome men and beautiful women, in a sense it felt like a rave. 

the king was greeted as he walk in, managing through waves of people and only occasionally waving a quick hi to a few groups. george on the other hand was being pushed around, told to watch where he was going as he bumped into every other person. 

they had finally reached the main club area, music blasting into their ears as people danced away unlit they either passed out or got bored. 

some faces were more recognizable than others, and chills ran down george’s spine as he began to recognize patterns in groups of people, those of regular costumers who came to george first about a purchase. he truly hated it, and though he would be nothing without the king, he wished to rather live a struggling life than one where he was a mutt to a bunch of older men. yet again, he wasn’t the only one that felt that way.

as they made their way up the stairs leading to the second floor, he spotted a familiar face from the stairs view. in the far corner just opposite of the staircase, was a man in a green dress shirt and black pants seated at the bar, dream. his blonde locks of hair covered one of his eyes as he looked around, searching for a familiar someone who had already spotted him first. 

george kept his stare on him, never once drifting his eyes away from the man who saved him that night. and suddenly their eyes locked, time slowed down, and the music died down. it was as if they had been pulled into their own little world, being the only two people in the club at that moment. a pit developed in george’s stomach, color flushed to his face and he felt his breathe hitch. oddly enough, he had a hard time tearing his eyes away from dream.

“hurry the fuck up!” george was pulled back into reality as he felt himself being tugged by the arm, the king dragging him away as he was forced to break eye contact with the other man. 

dream couldn’t help but slam his hand onto the bar table, he was fueled by a sudden burst of anger. seeing george made him feel relaxed deep down, and he wanted so badly to run up to the smaller boy and greet him. but seeing him get pushed around, dragged away like a dog on a leash, it pissed him the fuck off. there was nothing stopping him from getting up and beating the shit out of that man. but of course, he wasn’t just any man. 

there was no doubt about it, that man george was with was no other than lucien voslo, the rebels main target, and owner of club l’amour. the king of the night. and the next big question was; where were his chessmen? 

———

george and lucien finally sat down at their respective table, being waited on by the other three people already there. the youngest sat at a distance from the other four, he wasn’t allowed to be that close to higher ups in the first place. but, considering he was lucien’s pet, he was an exception to the system. he looked elsewhere, leaning over the metal and glass railing their booth was connected to, looking once more for the blonde. 

the sound of lively music coming from the loud speakers made it harder for him to hear what the others were talking about, but he knew it had to be their usual bickering. 

on the main floor he spotted multiple men who covered exit areas, entrances and corners of the bar. these were rooks, or in other words, the main army and bodyguard to the king. they were a strong bundle, and without them their little castle would surely crumble. rooks were above the pawns, and they had much more power over them considering they were only one hierarchy level up. they were separate from the two knights, who were also part of the kings army, additionally granted the privilege to give orders to the rooks. but like any hierarchy system, someone else gives orders to the knights as well. 

george looked back at the four people situated at the table. two men and a woman, dressed rather stylish even for their titles. these were the bishops, luciens personal henchmen.

and so these were the king and his chessmen 

———

standing at the top of a multiple floor office building was an unfamiliar figure to the reader. he peered through the clubs large lobby windows with a scope, connected to a heavy sniper only he knew how to function. his black hair swayed as the wind picked up; the end of the white headband across his forehead also moved in rhythm with the ends of his hair that layered over it. he was the eye in the sky, moving a finger up to press the piece in his ear, allowing him to communicate with his team. it was such a fucking fancy piece of technology his buddy managed to create for them, that stupid white haired man they loved so much. 

“hey dream, how’s it going over there?” he waited for a response, slight static possessing for a split second. 

_ “i see him now, and i see the others too. stay where you are, i’ll give a signal soon enough.” _

“got it.” 

“ _be patient sapnap, we’ve got him now._ ”


	7. the rooks, the bishops, and the weapon meister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in a club full off people, you become one of many.  
> and even then, even if you are timid;  
> you find yourself inching towards the dance floor,  
> claiming it as your own

_ it was a few years ago when sapnap was just a kid, his bruised knees touching the cement sidewalk, crying because of how much they stung. he was a clumsy boy, never really taking his time to do something and it always ended in him falling or tripping over himself. the sobs and cracks that came out of his mouth caused people who were passing by to bat an eye, yet no one bothered to help the boy with the scraped knee.  _

_ “hey are you ok?” he heard the shuffling of feet as they came into view, small grey sneakers that stopped in their track suddenly. sapnap looked up, eyes meeting with green emerald ones. the boy above him had short blonde hair, light freckles, and a bandaid across his left cheek. he extended a hand out, offering to pick up the boy on the floor, the widest grin plastered on his face.  _

_ “here i’ll help you get up, i have an extra bandaid to put on your knee. it looks like it hurts, are you ok?” the squeaky kid voice every small boy had at a young age would eventually deepen as years went by, but sapnap could only continue crying as the boy he now saw as his older brother helped him up. the blonde sat sapnap down at a nearby bench, getting down on one knee as he peeled the bandaid in his hand. _

_ “what’s your name? i really like your headband, it looks fucking sick!” he sounded so fucking excited for no reason, and sapnap was deeply confused as to why someone with such looks would help him. he was the perfect image of what a boy wanted to grow up to be like: strong, helping and courageous.  _

_ “my name is nick, what’s yours?” he managed to hiccup out. the tears had stopped falling just moments ago, and he watched intently as dream placed the bandaid over his cut,securing it with rubs on both ends. the boy finally stood back up, he was taller than sapnap even if the boy wasn’t sitting, and he had the brightest smile regardless of the countless cuts and bruises on his own hands and legs.  _

_ “my name is clay!”  _

sapnap sat at the top of the office building, legs crossed as he rested his back against the edge of the roof. he was waiting on clays word, tonight would be the night they tried to take out the king and his bishops. the only problem was that thesome rooks were present, and they would get in the way of a clean shot through the targets heads. they patrolled the outside of the club, some residing in the lobby and the rest in the main playground with the king. 

the brunet sighed as he played with the rifle in his hand. it was like a prized possession of his, specially crafted as he was the only one that worked it like the back of his hand. see sapnap was a weapon specialist, knowledge ranging from basic rifles and pistols to heavy snipers and explosive machinery. he was the rebels tank and the most aggressive weapon holder;

nicknamed the arsonist. 

———

george couldn’t quite recall how many drinks he’s had so far. his head was fuzzy, shots of mixed alcohol being forced into his hand, and without much hesitation he downed them in fear of being punished. he failed to notice the men walking past them, an even bigger mistake by leaving his drink at the edge of the table. bits of white powder sprinkled into his drink, and its effects were causing his eyes to swirl, dull colors overwhelming. 

the laughs at the table were directed towards him now. george could still make out their faces, seeing as only lucien and the female bishop laughed. anais voslo, younger to lucien voslo, was the bishop in charge of the money. she had strange methods, gambling the majority and always without a fail doubling the amount. her brother hated her ways, but learned to accept them considering she never once lost a gamble. oh how impulsive she was, addicted to the thrill and still remaining calm and composed. she had long, thick, red and orangish hair; a color that made her look like a ginger while concealing her true blonde locks of hair. she was wearing a silver bodycon dress that hugged her figure, defining her curves and love handles. anais was almost identical to her older sister, up until she dyed her hair. her sister, who was killed by rebels. 

next to her sat a taller man, rather slim but with a textured body. he wore a black suit, thick black shades that covered his eyes, with light brown hair that bundled up on one side of his face. he grinned, but didn’t laugh. george would say he was the nicest of the bishops, and often would have relaxing conversations with the man. this was eret, bishop in charge of the rook army, giving orders received from the king. he crossed his arms, shaking his head at anais’ laughing fit.

a hum of approval came from the last man that sat on the other side of anais. he wore ared tuxedo and black tie, brown hair which spiked up and a well trimmed beard he was proud of. the man rarely talked unless it was to give a response or order. george could tell how much the man disliked him, ignoring him like all the other pawns, and often times demanding the brunet to do something for him. he was the youngest of the bishops, but also the deadliest. this was ponk, bishop in charge of “recruiting” boys, or in their language; another term for finalizing sales and kidnapping boys.

———

george started to feel sick to his stomach. he could feel as the alcohol coursed through his veins, being rejected left and right. his stomach started to turn and twist, and at any moment he would start puking the only food he had in his system. george hated the sensation of puking, it made him feel hospital sick and even sometimes caused him to faint from disgust. 

he quickly got up from his seat, a wave of dizziness hitting him from the sudden movement before rushing to the staircase they had come from earlier. the laughs coming from the table ringed in his ears, and they watched as he waddled away, holding his mouth with one hand and his stomach with the other. of course they had no idea the young boys drink had been spiked by malicious men with no good intent. 

the brunet quickly made his way down the first set of stairs, clutching onto the railing as he felt even more lightheaded than before. in the background, the music picked up as  poison lips  from vitalic played through the loud speakers. the disco ball in the air reflected the lights that changed rapidly to the beat of the song, and he couldn’t make out all the colors being flashed in his face. it felt like a rave, waves of people jumping against each other, others dancing and grinding on each other, some even passed out from the alcohol. the chandelier swayed slightly from the vibrations generated by the clubbers and their accentuated movements. it was beautifully chaotic. 

his legs started to wobble and he no longer had the strength to stand up. he braced himself for the contact his body would make with the floor, but it never came. instead, he felt big arms wrap around his waist, pulling him up against someone big. another pair of hands grabbed his legs and he was hoisted up and being carried away. 

‘ _no, this isn’t right. my head, i’m slipping away.’_

george whimpered, putting the last of his strength into his legs as he tried to kick the men off of him before going out cold. 

———

dream was ready to give the signal to sapnap, calculating the rooks every moves. he had waited a long time to see if the knights would show up, but they never did and he was starting to get impatient. he raised a single finger up to his ear before stopping, seeing a group of older men carrying what looked like another man. the more dream looked at the scene, the more he made out that the young man was george. his brown locks covered his eyes as his head hung, his arms swinging at his sides and his legs being held by another man. 

immediately he forgot about the signal he was supposed to give, afraid that if a shot were fired it would put the boy in even more danger. the blonde got up from his seat at the bar and walked over to group of men who had successful gotten down the stairs. they stopped in their tracks, seeing dream approaching them before the man in front let go of george’s legs, puffing up his chest and blocking dreams view. 

“what do you want blondie?” they had strong masculine voices, with bomber jackets that outlined their muscly arms.

“i see you’ve got a lot on your hands. let me ask you, how do you know him?”

“that’s none of your fucking business how i know him.” 

dream moved closer to the man in front of him,aligning their heights as he pushed his face into the others personal bubble. 

“it is my fucking business. so tell me, what is he to you?” he spat into the mans face, eyes drifting towards george as the boy started to move in the other mans arms, opening his brown eyes that looked right into dreams. 

“dream?” he said softly, causing dreams heart to melt on the floor. he sounded scared, squirming and trying to get out of the mans grip. the man used one hand to grip george’s face, covering his mouth and tilting his head up. dreams nerves snapped, and he felt the blood rushing to his face and knuckles as he saw the man bite george’s neck. at this, george started to whimper, noises covered by the loud music blasting around them. tears threatened to spill as the man continued to bite and lick george’s neck; he felt violated, disgusted with his life and could no longer hide his sobs as the tears spilled from his eyes. 

“hey, george.” 

he stopped sobbing for a second, looking over at dream as he continued to squirm and fidget.

“just wait ok? i’ll be there in a second.” 

the man in front of dream laughed, looking the blonde up and down.

“a second? yeah righ-“ and with a punch straight to the face, dream knocked the man out cold, his body hitting the floor with a loud  _ thump _ . 

dream turned to the man holding george, cracking his knuckles as he approached the assailant and his hostage. he pulled out a small pocket knife, pressing it against the mans neck as he leaned into his ear, loudly saying, “let him go, or you’ll regret it.” 

george continued sobbing as he felt the grip around his face tighten. the two men had a standoff, staring into each other’s eyes as dream pressed the blade harder into the mans skin until surely blood would start spilling. it wasn’t until a few more seconds that the man let george go, letting the boy fall to the ground roughly. dream sucker punched the man straight in the nose, knocking him on his ass before the waterfall inside broke loose. he turned towards george, seeing the boy breathing heavily on the floor, legs sprawled and arms hugging himself. dream frowned at the sight, leaning down to pick up the brunet. george hesitated at first, flinching at the sudden contact before letting himself be picked up in a bridal style. he lay his head against dreams chest, hearing the rise of his heartbeat as he walked towards the bathrooms. dream tightened his hold on the boy as if he were going to disintegrate at any moment. 

———

on the second floor, lucien and his team continued their business talk, having seemingly forgotten about george for the time being. that was until ponk spoke out. 

“where’d the little mutt go lucien?” ponk pointed out. eret glanced at the king and his sister, both already looking at each other before lucien turned towards the other corner, motioning with his finger for the rooks who guarded to approach him. the two smaller figures stopped in front of the king; they were about the same height, innocent faces, and both beginners to the rook army. 

“i want you to go find that fucking-...i want you to go find george.” he muttered the last part, but still loud enough for the two rooks to hear. they looked at each other and nodded before proceeding towards the stairs. 

“niki, tubbo....” the king called out once more, “don’t let him out of your sight when you do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school starts tomorrow :( sorry if i am not able to upload daily chapters. i am trying to figure out a system where i can productively write with no trouble :/
> 
> feel free to follow me on twitter @a_dino0  
> i am debating making it an account solely based for my writing and updates on them :) 
> 
> thank you all for 200 kudos!


	8. modern portraits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want a song reference: streets by doja cat for the dancing scene

george emptied his stomach out into the toilet, letting out dry heaves as he tried to catch his breathe. he was still lightheaded, and with the help of dream had managed to make it to the bathroom in time. beads of sweat ran down his face as he continued to vomit his guts out, his body rejecting everything that had been digested in the last 24 hours. dream leaned against the open entrance, one leg blocking it entirely, holding the bathroom hostage. he was a little shaken up and kept an eye out for the old creepy men that had harassed george earlier. at the same, he noticed two young rooks patrolling the first floor, searing for a certain someone. dream kept a gaze on them, following them with every move they made; he knew for a fact they were looking for george, and he glanced back at the boy who broke into a coughing fit. 

george finally managed to prop himself up on both legs, slowly walking towards the sinks so that he could rinse his mouth. he felt somewhat relieved, stomach thanking him for ridding itself of the poison in his system. cold droplets of water splashed in his face, waking him fully to ensure he wouldn’t pass out the moment he stepped back out. he took a minute to examine himself in the mirror, seeing the front locks of his hair wet while the others remained untouched yet messy. a trail of bruises covered his jawline; oh how many times he had been roughly grabbed by the cheeks, he was sure it would remain permanent with how detailed andpurple they developed, appearing as different shades of blue to him. his cold fingers began to outline his face, touching every spot that wasn’t full of bruises; and he smiled, grateful that some parts remained untouched and he wasn’t a complete canvas of blues. 

dream watched as he did so, he himself admiring the beauty in george’s face. regardless of the spotting, the man was absolutely gorgeous. he resonated like a modern portrait, disco colors splashing across his face which changed every second. the smaller boy occasionally caught a glimpse of the yellows, the blues, and the golds and whites that bounced off his face. to him, his reflection was that of a black and white portrait, no colors resonating besides the blue bumps on his jaw and yellow lights. george turned his head towards dream, their eyes locking more times than george has ever looked into someone else’s. the music in the background changed rhythmically, the DJ choosing slower songs so people could grind and press on each other. the start of a melancholy R&B beat stopped everyone’s movements, suddenly driving everyone to close in on each other. 

dream walked towards george, grabbing the older mans hand as he dragged him out of the bathroom. the lights were much brighter now, blinding george as he adjusted to the change in setting. on the dance floor were more people than before, all dancing with energy that matched the song. the crowd was perfect for george and dream to blend into, no one would spot them if they were right smack in the middle of the mini mosh pit. they tried to push their way through, but every time getting more sucked into the void that was the people. 

the music made george sway slightly, and he started to get attached to the feeling again, that lust he had for dancing. he pulled back on dreams hand that was still holding his own, and the blonde stumbled with confusion as he saw george sway back and forth, developing into more dramatic moves as he danced without a care in the world. 

and dream couldn’t tear his eyes away, he himself starting to inch his way forward, closing the space between george and him. 

———

tubbo and niki continued walking around the club, searing every nook and cranny for the small pawn. they’re heads hung low, trying to avoid any suspicious stares they were receiving. they were in their signature uniform, cargo pants with a basic t-shirt for tubbo; a tank top for niki. it was quite unprofessional but they couldn’t really be out in a club suited in armor and carrying weapons, so they had to resort to basic methods. 

tubbo took the time to fully stop and look around, scanning every single persons face as he spotted a familiar dancer in a crowd of people. he elbowed niki who also turned, nodding simultaneously as they began approaching the pair. instead, the tall figure of ponk blocked their path, both youngsters coming to a halt as they looked up at the bishop. 

“what are you doing? you’re supposed to be looking for the mutt.” he said sternly, looking both rooks in the eye. tubbo gulped, ponk always gave him goosbumps, he was a storm to be reckoned with.

“we are sir, we found him. he’s over there dancing with some dude.” tubbo pointed towards george, ponk following his finger as he adjusted his dress shirt. without another word the bishop started walking towards the brunet, and tubbo almost questioned him if it wasn’t for niki slapping a hand over his mouth. the small boy looked at the niki, seeing her eyes pointed at the ground and hand formed into a fist with shaking movements. they both knew george was in some deep shit. 

———

dream took the riskiest leap as he closed the gap between him and george. the other man found nothing out of it, dancing in his own bubble while pressing on dream every other movement. the space between them only got smaller and smaller, and they were pushed into a position where they could feel each other’s bodies with every move of a limb. george turned around, his back pressed on dreams chest, moving the entirety of his body in a figure eight against the blonde. dreams breathe hitched as george grinded against him, the boys ass touching dreams legs and crotch area, and he was holding back his curious hands that wanted to grab the others hips. eventually dream tried communicating with the boy through movements as well, moving his hips against george while one of his arms wrapped over the boys chest, hand spread. his other hand grabbed a handful of george’s hair and pulled his head back carefully, forcing a gasp out of george’s mouth. 

they continued dancing on each other, hips moving, ass grinding. dream lowered his head down to george’s neck, breathing against it as george laid his head back against his chest. it was like a beautiful displayed sex position, georges back against dream as the blonde grabbed him with sexual intention, tension rising as the brunet let out small gasps and moans. if you were to see them, they’d be the perfect image on a canvas, bodies pressed together with no space to breathe, colorful cheeks and sloppy movements. it was truly driving them both crazy. 

dream went to plant his lips on georges neck before suddenly being pushed off him, landing backwards on his ass and hitting his head against peoples legs. he rubbed his head, looking up at the tall figure that hovered over george. he couldn’t move his body, both physical and audible shocked as he recognized the face that belonged to the wanted bishop. 

“so this is where you ran off to. god lucien is a fucking idiot for keeping a worthless shit like you.” he gritted his teeth, reaching with a hand to forceful grab georges hair, not softly and considerate like dreams grasp. the boy let out whimpers, and people started to stare at the commotion in the middle of the dance floor. without ponk noticing, dream reached into his suit, grabbing what looked like a white mask; a single smiley face painted across it in a bold black. 

“let’s go.” the bishop shouted, dragging george by his hair. the boy started to fight back, letting out cry’s of pain from his hair being pulled. 

“sir please, my hair.” george tried pleading, but ponk only pulled harder, eventually letting go and wrapping a hand across the boys neck. george gasped, feeling tightness around his neck as the bishop started to choke the younger. behind him, dream started to pull out his pistol, mask on and ready to aim at the bishop. he heard the slight static in his ear before his partner spoke.

“ _take him and run_!”  sapnap shouted from the other side, and a shot rang through the air, glass shattering into a million pieces which hit the floor, bouncing off in opposite directions. georges ears rang, and he fell onto his ass as the grip around his neck was released. his vision blurred and he tried adjusting his eyes, hearing screams overlap with the ringing. when he looked up, he saw a pool of dirty mustard streaming toward him, and he took a second to process what the true color would be. he followed the trail up to its source, seeing a body laying motionless on the ground. 

georges throat tightened, his hands started shaking and he felt the vomit erupting from his mouth, emptying it again for the second time to the side. his breathing started going off the rails, inconsistent inhales and exhales as his eyes refused to look back at the body laying in a pool of red. he touched his face, feeling the specks of blood that had sprayed all over it.

dream quickly scooped george up from the ground, throwing the boy over his shoulder as he made a run for the back exit, mask still on and pistol in his other hand. the boy on his shoulder didn’t struggle, instead he went still, probably passing out from the sight he had just witnessed. the blonde gritted his teeth, running out through the alley and opposite from sapnaps building. 

“fucking idiot!” he screamed out. for once he was starting to feel anxious. 

———

on the office building, sapnap wiped the sweat off his forehead, dropping the sniper rifle he had just used to take out one of the bishops. he caught a sight of dream running the opposite direction, boy in his hands. the dark haired boy began packing his shit up, swinging the rifle over his shoulder and heading down the stairs from the roof. he pressed a switch on the mic, switching channels so he could communicate with their medic.

“hey wil, you there?” 

a brief static interrupted before the other man responded 

“ _whats going on?_ ”

“i took a bishop out. we might need you so be ready for dream when he gets there. i’ll explain later.” 

“ _got it_.” 

after a few minutes sapnap made it out of the office building, running in the direction dream went;towards their base. the sirens intensified minutes later, arriving to the crime scene. but all traces of dream, george and sapnap were gone.


	9. the medic

their base was a well-constructed bunker, with the doors covered by the environment to hide it from plain sight. it wasn’t on its own though, being part of a bigger plain of grass and trees that helped conceal it. 

dream stood in front of the camera system at the bunker door, waiting for the person on the other side to recognize him and unlock it for him. george was now on dream’s back, head resting on his shoulder and hands hanging over them. though he was awake and conscious, he felt disconnected from the reality in front of him, replaying the image of blood pooling around his body. he felt disgusted, the stickiness and iron smell filling his nostrils. he wanted to wash himself, to scrub harshly at the patches of blood splattered all over his face and body. but instead he just lay there on dreams back, motionless and with no real motivation to move. and so he let dream carry him inside, walking through the long hallway that resembled a hospital, with white rectangular lights on the ceiling beaming down on them. they passed by many people, some dressed in army-like uniforms while others wore casual fits. 

dream walked a bit more before entering a smaller room filled with medical equipment and a white solid table set up in the middle. a man with his back initially faced at dream turned abruptly, a lab coat over his beige collared sweater. his brown hair swayed slightly over one side of his face and he had on a pair of round, thin retro-like glasses. 

“well look who’s back. what the hell even happened?” 

“i’ll explain in a bit wilbur, where the hell is sapnap?” dream let out a long sigh of frustration and walked over to the medics table, turning around so that he could let george go in a sitting position. when he turned back around he looked george up and down, cringing at his physical appearance. the brunet looked sad, staring down at the ground like he always did while twiddling with his fingers. 

“what happened?” 

dream looked at wilbur and started to pace around the room as he let the medic take over.

“sapnap took a shot on a bishop. he was-“ dream cut himself off, glancing at george, but the boy stared at nothing as his eyes glazed over. 

“he was attacking george.” dream finished. wilbur moved all around george before reaching for the boys arm.

“i’m going to examine you now ok? just to make sure everything’s intact.” wilbur was sweet,always careful of his actions when treating patients. he was the nicest, with a chill vibe, of the group and was highly skilled in what he did. he moved his hands down george’s arm, avoiding the blood stains but still pressing down on important areas of his arm to make sure nothing hurt. he moved to the other arm, doing the same but this time george let out a small grunt when wilbur pressed down around his shoulder. 

“does it hurt here?” he pressed down again next to his collar and george nodded slowly with a pained look. wilbur pulled out a small flashlight and inspected the area, catching a combination of purple and blue spotting around the brunets collarbone and neck. it looked like hell but luckily nothing was broken. 

“it’s just a bunch of bruising. make sure to apply some ice to that so they don’t swell up.” wilbur suggested. he moved to george’s back and did the standard massaging, pulling out a stethoscope afterwards to check his heartbeat. lastly, he inspected georges legs and face with typical touches, shining the flashlight in his face to account for his eyes and ears. 

“he’s all good, nothing seems to be broken or out of place. the only thing that worries me is the amount of bruising and blood. take him to the showers and help him out dream. and afterwards, look for the small ice sheets to put on his bruises.” wilbur looked at george one last time with a sad smile, reaching out with one hand to pat the boys head.

“you’re ok, we’re gonna take care of you ok?”

george never looked up from the ground, but instead gave a understanding nod to the medic, mumbling a quiet thank you for his work. dream pat wilbur’s back before picking up george against his chest, arms under his legs and the brunets arms over his shoulders. wilbur blushed slightly at this, they looked like a couple, with george being carried like allie from the movie the notebook. 

“thanks again wilbur.” he gave the medic a smile before leaving the room. wilbur sighed but returned the smile, walking back to his desk. 

‘ _that boy, so mysterious. and dream, his walls are being broken_.’

———

georges grip around dreams shoulders tightened and he buried his head into the blondes chest. it was a weird feeling, he felt so secure around dream and it was as if they had known each other forever. dream smiled at georges movements, walking into the bathroom within his bedroom and placing george down on the shower bench. it was a fancy fucking bathroom, with two separate showers and a bathtub on the other side, sinks aligned to the walls with enough space to walk around freely. 

“i’ll let you get undressed and shower, or bathe whatever you want. i’ll come back in a bit with a change of clothes. you can toss the dirty ones in the bin right there.” he pointed at a bin in the corner of the bathroom. george nodded and dream took it as his queue to leave, heading for the door before he felt a hand wrap around his wrist which startled him. george had quickly reached for dreams hand, looking at the ground with a blush across his face. dream only stared at him, waiting for the boy to say something. george finally looked up, locking eyes with dream as his lip started to quiver.

“thank you, for everything.” 

dream smiled and walked back, running a hand through georges hair as he pulled the boys head into his abdomen. 

“no need to thank me, you’re gonna be ok here, i promise.” and with that dream walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him and leaving george in a white room of silence. 

the brunets face still had the flustered look plastered across his cheeks, and he buried his face into his hands, mentally punching himself at the cringe words that left his mouth a few seconds ago. after a minute of self reflecting, he walked over to the bathtub and turned its handle to the right setting, water gushing out as it started to fill slowly. he then began to undress himself slowly, taking off the blood stained suspenders and dress pants first. he pulled his shirt over his head, messing up his hair as he fully exposed himself to the white room. removing his underwear last, he tossed all his dirty and soaked clothes in the bin dream had pointed out. 

george stood in front of the bathtub, staring at it before gaining the confidence to dip his foot in, the warmth of the water surrounding it with a welcoming hug. 

george dipped his whole body in the bathtub, feeling a sense of relief and no longer shivering and cold. 

———

dream paced around his room, the clothes he picked out for george sitting neatly on the bed. he was nervous as fuck, and didn’t know how to approach the man who was stark naked inside. he heard the bathtub start and quickly looked in one of his drawers, pulling out a small scented bath bomb he could surprise george with. dream inhaled and exhaled slowly, picking up the clothes he had laid out and walking towards the door, placing a small knock on it.

“george? i have some clothes for you, can i come in?” 

he heard shuffling on the other side before george answered. 

“y-yeah come in.” 

dream braced himself before opening the door and looking straight at george. the boy had his legs up to his chest, covering himself so dream couldn’t see anything. the blonde cleared his throat before placing the clean pair of clothes 

on the shower bench. he held the bath bomb in his hand and swiftly turned towards george, startling the smaller boy. 

“check this out, you’ll like it.” dream smiled and dropped the bath bomb in the bathtub. george scooted away from the object and watched with amazed eyes as it started fizzling and turning into bubbles. 

“it’s soap!” george said with a genuine smile. it was the first time he had smiled since the first night dream met him, and the blondes cheeks turned a visible shade of pink.

‘ _what a genuine reaction...so cute.’_

dream noticed george had not washed his face yet, specks of blood still marked around his cheeks and forehead. dream walked towards the sink a grabbed a small face towel that was inside the sink cabinets, wetting it with lukewarm water and returning to the tub. he kneeled down besides the bathtub so he was at the same height as the boy and began wiping at the blood marks. 

“are you ok?” he broke the silence as he continued wiping at georges face. the brunet looked at the bubbles foaming around him and picked at them with his hands.

“more or less yeah.” he mumbled. 

“i’m sorry you had to see that. i’m sorry about his death i don’t know what he was to you.” 

george scrunched his eyebrows together when dream brushed over one of his bruises. they hurt like hell but at the same time the water was helping his sore muscles relax. 

“he was a bishop.  I was nothing to him.” 

they both got quiet, and dream had finally finished wiping the blood off georges face. 

“well you matter here.” 

george turned his head towards dream, looking the blonde in the eyes as their faces simultaneously turned shades darker. those eyes of dreams were so familiar and he couldn’t quite recall what was so familiar about them. dream still had the towel in his hand and reached over to wipe off the last stain on george’s cheek, but left his hand there afterwards. george swallowed hard at the tension, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the man. with his other hand, dream cupped georges face and but his lip. 

“i’m going to take care of you.” 

george reached up to grab dreams hand, reassuring the taller man by rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb. the gap between them started to close, dream leaning in as george propped himself up on the bathtub. inches away, their lips would’ve connected if it wasn’t for the shouting that came from outside the bedroom.

“Dream!” 

both boys quickly pulled away and dream ran out of the bathroom, leaving george bewildered and embarrassed. he nervously got out of the bathtub and started to dry himself off. the clothes that dream left consisted of a pair of boxers, black cargo pants and a black t-shirt with a blue hoodie next to it.

‘ _shit, i never returned his other sweater.’_ george mentally cursed himself and proceeded to get dressed, not bothering to brush his messy hair.

———

dream exited the bedroom with a concerned look on his face and he spotted sapnap marching down the hallway towards him. 

“where the fuck were you idiot? and why tf did you-“ dream was interrupted by sapnap

“shut up! more importantly where is that nerd face punz?” 

dream let out a  tsk as sapnap started to walk away but he was quick to grab the younger boys shirt and pull him back.

“stop fucking around nick! what the hell was that shot? that just jeopardized the whole plan!” 

“what fucking plan? i took out a bishop that is my fucking task!” 

dream pushed the boy against the wall with a hard  thump and got in his face, awfully close for sapnaps liking.

“you could’ve fucking waited for the signal like we agreed and taken them all out at once! not just one, now they know we’re onto them dipshit!”

sapnap pushed dream away with his arms, sending the blonde to collide with the other wall.

“I was trying to protect you bastard!”

“well don’t fucking worry about me!”

“WELL I DO!”

dreams eyes widened at sapnaps raise in tone and watched as his friend wiped his mouth and walked away towards the tech rooms. dream sighed, feeling a headache creep it’s way up as he turned back towards his room, basically kicking the door open. 

george jumped at the loud noise and followed dream with his eyes, the blonde pacing around his room angrily. 

“is everything ok? what happened?” his voice was soft as to not seem pushy, but dream was just not in the mood. 

“none of your business. i’ll be back later.” dream said sternly. he grabbed his bag that was set down on the bed and walked out of the bedroom, shutting his door loudly. 

george couldn’t help but frown and bury his head into his knees. 

_ ‘this is my fault’  _

———

“ can you believe that fucking idiot? jesus fuck how annoying can he be?” sapnap was sitting on a white desk, swinging his legs as he ranted to the other man in the room.

“like who does he think he is? big stupid bitch!” 

the man in the other room sighed and turned back towards sapnap. his white hair was being held up by fancy glasses he had made, screw in one hand and a hard dive in the other. 

“ok i get you’re angry but you need to shut the fuck up and let me concentrate.”

sapnap grumbled and hopped off the desk, waking toward punz in a cocky motion.

“whatever nerd. so tell me, how does it work?” 

punz smiled almost evilly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, finishing his little project at hand. 

“i inserted a hard drive for more memory but check it out,” punz powered up the computer, alert after alert popping up on his screen that he easily coded through, inserting passcodes and barriers every second he was typing. 

“this is my motherboard, call her baby.” punz smirked proudly as he spun around in his chair. 

“no shit, this looks sick. you’re a genius man. but, please fix the fucking frequency on the mics, they kept cutting out every so often.” 

the white haired boy sighed and continued typing away as he set up firewalls and codes of his own. 

“will do just leaves yours here and get the fuck out. i’ll fix the others’ later.”

sapnap dropped the mic on the table and started to walk out of the tech room.

“also sapnap,” punz started, “talk to dream. we can’t have our best hitmen on bad terms with each other. you’re his bestfriend man, explain it to him.” 

sapnap grinned widely and waved at punz 

“yeah i will later, in gonna go work on my babies for now.”

by babies he meant his weapons. punz laughed at that before going serious, reading the text he had just received on his phone.

“hey nick?” he called out again. sapnap turned around with a confused face.

“what do you want nerd?”

“callahan is calling for you.”

“boss?”

“yup, goodluck.” punz went back to typing as sapnap quickly walked towards the meeting rooms. 

‘ _shit_ ’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here’s another chapter :)   
> i’m trying to upload this work every other day so that i can also have time for school work!   
> i also try to write more each chapter so there’s more to read over the days  
> enjoy!


	10. memories

dream strutted down the hallway and towards the main meeting rooms. he felt the warm shade of red that covered his face, still angry about the fight he had with sapnap earlier. his phone vibrated, alerting him that he had received a message, and he pulled his phone of his pocket, sighing as he read it. callahan, their boss, and the most badass motherfucker of the rebel army, was asking for his presence in the meeting rooms. dream was already making his way there to report of the situation and to mention the visitor in dreams bedroom. that sounded so wrong in his head.

the meeting rooms were like big spaced out areas that had all their essential equipment, thanks to punz, and where they would go to discuss future plans or report on a returned task. when meetings were called, it usually meant it was something important as fuck or something tragic. there was really no in-between. dream figured it was about sapnaps slip up, confused as to how callahan already knew about that. when he made it into the meeting area he noticed sapnap was already there, seated in his respective chair while shooting a quick glance at dream who walked to his. 

“i’m assuming this idiot told you about what happened, sir?” 

sapnap laughed and shook his head in disbelief.

“shut up dickwad” 

from the main seat on the other side of the table sat callahan, about the same height as dream but dressed in a brown sweater with blue jeans. the man definitely had a sense of style. 

“boys please don’t fight right now, just give me the gist of what happened.” callahan sighed as he slouched in his chair, flicking his pen around instead of filling out the paperwork scattered in front of him.

“dumbass over there took a shot on a bishop.”

“that’s a good thing!” 

“ _only_ one of them.”

callahan looked up at dream before turning to sapnap, rolling his eyes at the youngest. 

“it is a good thing indeed sapnap, but the point was to take them all at a time. one after the other not just one in a single period.”

“dream was in trouble.”

the room fell silent and callahan stopped playing with his pen, now sitting up fully in his chair.

“trouble?” he asked dream, making the blonde nervous as he shuffled around in his chair. 

“uh well, sapnaps exaggerating. i was just fighting the guy cause he was messingwithsomeoneiwaswithandineededhim tobackoff.” he stumbled over his words, speaking fast as to throw off both men listening.

“ok slow the fuck down and speak like you mean it clay.” 

“he brought a stray home.”

dream slammed his hands on the table, standing up from his chair, “fuck you nick he’s not a fucking dog!” 

“you brought a rook here?!” callahan interrupted him, now fully up from his seat and walking towards dream. the blonde gulped as he sat back down in his chair, showing his respects to his superior. callahan continued walking until he was fully in front of dream, looking down on him with curious eyes. 

“why bring a rook home?” 

dream looked straight into callahans eyes, never once breaking the tension. even sapnap was beginning to become nervous for his bestfriend. callahan wasn’t a intimidating person, but when he was serious about something he showed a rather aggressive side of himself. he only ever wanted the best for his men, and no matter if dream was the one he had the most faith in, he had to set the blonde in his place at times. 

“he was injured. he’s not just any rook sir, he’s the kings rook.” dream said with a straight face. it would buy him some points if he mentioned georges stratus in relation to their target. 

“ah i see. well, we can’t fix the bishop situation, you’ll just have to work harder to kill the remaining two sippy cup.”

“don’t fucking call me tha-“

“and as for you dream,” callahan interrupted, “i wanna meet this rook. bring him here later, we’ll gather everyone else to see what we can do. but, be cautious, the king is not gonna be happy.” and with that callahan walked back to his personal room, leaving the two hunters in their seats. 

dream was the first to break the silence, getting up from his seat and walking towards the long hallway back to his room. 

“hey dream?” sapnap called, still seated in his chair. dream turned around, looking at sapnaps back. 

“what’s up douchebag?”

“i just wanted to make sure you weren’t gonna get fucked up man, i didn’t mean to ruin the plan.” sapnap said with a sad tone. he really just wanted to make sure dream would be ok, screw the plan if it meant saving his friend in a time of need. 

dream felt a tint of guilt form in his stomach, and he ran a hand through his hair as he continued to walk down the hallway. 

“i know nick, no need to apologize. thank you, i didn’t know what i would’ve done without you.”

sapnap smiled as he heard dreams footsteps echo down the hallway until they become distant taps. his smile formed back into a straight line as he looked through the two files in front of him, studying the faces of the two bishops he still needed to deal with. 

———

george was in a pickle. he sat in the corner of dreams room, knees to his chest and head down. dreams little outburst had struck him in the chest rather hard, and he felt very much alone in the big dark room. so much had happened in the last 24 hours that his brain could not process it all, and he didn’t know what to expect from just sitting in a room all day, in a big bunker he didn’t know his way around. 

george sighed as he lifted his head from his knees, looking around dreams bedroom and trying to find something to occupy himself with. the blondes bedroom was pretty empty, with only a large bed in the middle, closet full of clothes, and the bathroom that george was in a couple moments ago. if it were a meal, it’d be pretty bland. george couldn’t say much though, he didn’t even have his own bedroom when he was with lucien. he always felt like a guest whenever he entered a room, and even though he was living in that apartment complex for so long, it never really felt like home. now that george was thinking about it, he didn’t know how long he sat there waiting for dream to come back. a part of him suggested the blonde would never come back, while the other half said otherwise and encouraged him to sit still and wait. but as minutes passed, feeling like hours, he finally stood up and made his way towards the bedroom door. 

george didn’t really hesitate to open the door, taking a step out of the bedroom and into the long hallway he had seen first. there was no one around, and now he was seeing the hallway better than when he was on dreams back. there were rooms across each other on each ends of the hallway, and it resembled that of a hotel. on the other end of the hallway, the roads split to the left and right and continued forward for who knows how long. the brunet walked out of the room fully and continued down the hallway that lead to the big door they had entered from. he passed by the medics room, made of clear glass where one could see everything inside, catching a glimpse of wilbur working at his desk. he scurried across as to make sure the older man couldn’t see him and continued until he was in front of the bunkers entrance. 

it had a keypad to the left side, and the door itself wasn’t big, just the space that hovered over it. george stared at the keypad intently, numbers swirling through his head until he could successfully piece them all together. with a single finger he reached over and pressed the combination of numbers into the keypad, getting reassurance that he was correct when it let out a beep, hearing the locks click open. george opened the bunker door slowly, letting the fresh air fill the empty hallway as his hair swayed because of the air that hit his face. it was still dark outside, though by the positioning of the moon and tints of color in the sky, he could tell the sun would rise in a couple hours. he stood outside for a few minutes, admiring the breeze while looking at the city below. he could see the millions of lights that lit up streets and buildings; and the small ants that were people walking down the streets. he could even see the high roller which in its mighty form, was the most beautiful thing in all of vegas. 

the rustling of leaves broke george out of his peaceful state, startling the boy as he turned to the side quickly. emerging from the shadows were two figures, and george started to move back towards the door until he heard it lock.

‘ _shit, i’m done for.’_

he turned back around, now being able to see the two figures’ faces as the moonlight shined down on them. 

“niki? how did you find me? and, bad?” 

———

“you’re a fucking idiot!” dream laughed out loud, wheezing through his words as sapnap and punz laughed with him. all three boys were chilling in punz’s room, relaxing after the big night they all had. 

“you should’ve seen his dumbass punz, he sat right back down once he saw boss walking towards him. pussy!” sapnap said in a mocking tone as dream laughed. punz was highly amused, shaking his head with a smile at the two boys.

“ok i had a right to be scared that man is unpredictable sometimes.” 

“he’s right, but you’re still a little pissbaby dream.” punz pointed out, sapnap bursting into another fit of laughter as dream bit the inside of his cheek and pouted. they weren’t always working their asses off and sometimes had nice moments like these, where they could all bond and catch up on time lost. they didn’t care about not sleeping, and the most important thing to them was strengthening their bond. they continued to laugh, cracking jokes while also insulting each other in a friendly way, until punz heard a beep come from his monitor. 

he quickly turned back to his computer, opting out of the conversation dream and sapnap were still having. 

“you’re mad cause you suck at fighting.”

“at least i know how to use a gun.”

“so do i idiot.”

“pistols dont count.”

“says who pussy?”

“your moms a pu-“ 

“guys..” punz interrupted the two boys. both dream and sapnap turned to look at the white-haired man, raising an eyebrow at his sudden seriousness. punz continued to type away at his keyboard, checking the security logs and inhaling sharply.

“what’s going on man?” dream asked.

punz ushered both men to his monitor and showed them the security log, alerting that the bunker door had been opened. “someone opened the bunker door.” 

sapnap sat down in a chair across the room, putting his hands behind his head and sighing in annoyance. “who cares? probably just a rook.” 

“no ones allowed to be out right now sap.” dream said seriously, and he started to think of a certain someone, connecting the pieces together. 

“and they have to alert me first if they’re goingsomewhere in the first place. hold on, let me check something.” punz continued to type away. 

‘ _it can’t be. this idiot really couldn’t have. he’s still in my bedroom, probably sitting in the corner...right?’_

sapnap stood up from his spot and leaned on punz’s chair, looking through the cams alongside him. he spotted a certain brunet, his small form next to two other figures he couldn’t quite make out. 

“no fucking way. how did he even know the code?” sapnap said out loud. 

“who the fuck is that?” punz asked.

both men looked at dream, who only stood there processing what was happening before he quickly rushed out of the door, running 

down the hallway to reach george in time. 

———

wilbur wasn’t an idiot, but he was a doctor. so of course he had seen george sneak away. and like any curious person, he poked his head out of his room, with enough distance so that the boy couldn’t see him. but when george opened that bunker door, he quickly bolted out of the room and towards the younger man. although he had just met him not too long ago, he felt the need to protect george with his life. wilbur was just a natural parent like that.

he quickly punched the code into the keypad and opened the bunker door, george being the first thing he saw when he stepped out of the bunker. the younger man looked at him with a worried look, stepping back closer to wilbur so that he has a source of comfort. when wilbur looked in front of them, he saw two figures; one of a taller man with glasses, wearing a red and black hoodie; and a smaller girl with blonde silver hair who also wore round glasses. she was absolutely beautiful.

“so who might these people be, boy?” he asked george. the younger looked up at him before clearing his throat. 

“they’re part of the kings set.” he said. the girl took a step forward before raising her hands in the air.

“george, it’s me niki. we’re not looking for trouble, i need your help please. bad is-“ she was interrupted by the sound of a thud; the man next to her falling to the ground. she quickly dropped to his side, turning him over so that his face was visible. 

“bad! please george, he’s badly hurt.” niki looked up at the two men, tears forming in her eyes as she continued to shake the man on the ground. wilbur took a breathe before approaching the woman, kneeling down on the other side of bad. 

“here, let me see.” 

“are you a medic?” niki asked. wilbur blushed slightly, sweat forming as he checked the mans pulse and head. 

“yes, i can help your friend. just help me carry him inside will you sweetheart? gogy, go open the door please.” 

george quickly moved to open the door as both wilbur and niki lifted bad up and carried him inside, bits of blood trailing behind them. he let wilbur and niki pass as he stayed behind to close and secure the bunker door. he didn’t know why wilbur decided to help those of the kings crew, but he was grateful because it was bad that was hurt. 

bad was his friend, the only other rook that talked to him whenever they saw each other. he was also the only one who stood up to the king, which he figured is why he was so injured in the first place. in the distance, he saw dream running towards him, sapnap and punz trailing behind him. dream looked angry, and he couldn’t really blame him, he was stupid for leaving the bedroom in the first place. 

“you idiot! what were you thinking?!” dream shouted, grabbing the smaller boy by the collar as he pulled him up closer to his face. george grunted as he felt himself being lifted off the ground, struggling to keep his balance on his tippy toes. 

“hey dream maybe calm down a bi-“

“piss of sapnap. that could’ve gone down way worse! you could’ve jeopardized the fucking base you-you...” dream trailed off, not finishing his sentence as he saw george shut his eyes tightly, his grip around dreams hands tightening out of fear. dream quickly composed himself, letting the boy back down on his feet as he looked away in shame. 

“sorry, but you really fucked shit up.” dream said before fully turning around and starting to walk to wilbur’s office, sapnap and punz following. 

georges head started to hurt, and he fell on his knees as he clutched his head in his hands.the ringing in his ears wouldn’t stop, and he whimpered at the pulsing pain in his head. he started to see things he’d never seen before; memories of him back in high school, in a field of grass, weird letters across his arms, and what seemed to be a black dragon so vividly real. 

dream looked back, seeing george on the floor and quickly running back to him, kneeling down as he held him in his arms. the only response george gave was small whimpers and cry’s as he continued to scratch at his head. 

“hey george, i’m here! please, what’s going on?” 

“c-clay, it hurts.” 

sapnap and punz’s eyes widened, dreams did as well. he hadn’t told george his real name, and he wasn’t planning to anytime soon.

“w-what?”

_ ‘gosh the memories, they hurt _ ’ 


	11. the plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everything in italics is meant to be in the past

wilbur had been able to patch up bads minor injuries. they weren’t deep to the point he would die, but it would be pretty painful to leave them exposed. the good thing was that Wilbur was an excellent medic, and his skills and knowledge payed off whenever someone was in need of medical attention. he wasn’t the only one with knowledge though; niki had helped him throughout the whole process. she was by his side, cleaning bads wounds while wilbur stitched them up. any time he had trouble cleaning around the wound, niki would step in. when her hands were shaking out of fear and she couldn’t push the needle through, wilbur would take over. it was the dynamic the two had that fused into a sacred bond like that of yin and yang. and though they were two completely different people, with separate lives and unknown backgrounds; they were both in the same room, under the same bright light, helping the same person. 

when the sun started to rise no one had yet been to sleep. they had decided to stay up and make sure niki and bad weren’t undercover rooks, all men having terrible bags under their eyes. george had passed out form exhaustion a few hours before sunrise, his head laying on dreams lap who was also dozing off. she looked really sweet and harmless, but one could never know for sure. sapnap was seated next to dream, his head against the wall with eyes closing every so often. on the other hand, punz had returned to his own room, working on his usual codes and improvements in security with callahan keeping him company. 

dream looked down at george, running a hand through the boys brown locks and hearing the soft breathes he took in. he felt bad for how exhausted george looked, but once again the boy felt like a complete stranger to dream. after all, he knew some things he shouldn’t have known in the first place. 

it was like a dead sleepover that morning in the bunker, everyone waiting nervously for bad to wake up.

———

over the course of the next few days, dream and the others took the time to train george; sapnap showing him how to work a gun, dream explaining basic combat moves and punz educating him on code and technology. george felt annoyed most of the time, like he was back at school learning new shit every single day for countless hours. wilbur had also taken the time to show niki a couple more medical practices, enhancing her skills and range so that there would be two medics on board. they had all learned to quickly trust niki as she was completely harmless and only wanted a change in her life. it had been a whole week since they did anything that risked their lives, bad not yet waking up. they were enjoying the calm before the storm. 

“come on george, one more time and then we’re done for the day.” dream said, adjusting the gloves on his hand as he turned back towards george. they had been practicing hand to hand combat for the last few hours, and george was so done for the day.

“dream i’m exhausted, can we just continue tomorrow?” the boy pleaded, getting up from the ground after being knocked on his ass for the third time in a row. 

“you need to get this down, just one more ok?” dream smiled before moving into a stance, george quickly following as dream charged at him. 

the move was simple; a moving target has more power than you. but, with the right positioning, it was dodgeable. all george had to do was predict where dream would try and strike, and then move in the other direction, using his elbow to hit his targets neck and knock them down. it sounded easy, but it really wasn’t. 

dream charged to george’s right side, the boy predicting the opposite and moving in the direction the blonde was coming from. dream crashed into george with hard contact, knocking them both down on the ground and out of breath. 

“wrong again gogy.” dream said as he propped himself up with his arms, a flustered george under him heavily inhaling. 

“can’t..concentrate.” the brunet breathed out as he looked into dreams eyes. they stayed like that for a minute, george underneath dreams body, staring at each other as the wind brushed their long strands of hair around. they had recently spent so much time together without even realizing it, and now when restricted to only seeing each other; they could clearly watch the blossoming of their forever connection. 

———

on a rainy afternoon, niki bursted into the meeting rooms, startling everyone who had been waiting on her. 

“i need to go back. i need to go back for-“ 

callahan stood from his seat and walked to niki with hands to comfort the air.

“hold on deep breathes niki, why is that? do you know what’ll happen if you go back?” he said. they all sat in silence as they watched their conversation roll out, wilbur eyeing niki and never once looking away. 

“i know but...i need to get my friends, tubbo and tommy!” 

georges head snapped up, looking directly at niki and getting out of his seat slowly. he always saw tommy and tubbo together, like a tightly knit sibling relationship.

“but tommy is a knight niki. and tubbo...tubbo won’t go unless tommy does.” he broke the silence. at this niki looked at the ground out of frustration.

“i can convince them! please, i can’t let them go down like this.” 

callahan turned to look at the rebels seated around the table, waiting for their approval. he slowly saw as each member started to nod, wilbur being the first of them all. the assassin finally turned towards dream and george, waiting for the two of them to express their opinions.

“george? do you think it’s a good idea?” 

george bit his lip and looked at dream. but the blonde only nodded at him, giving him the final say.

“do you have any paper? preferable large if possible?” 

a pencil and piece of paper were handed to the brunet, and he started to scribble away as everyone else watched intently. at first it look like he was writing in giant caps all over the paper, but after a few seconds they could see the lines connecting and labels being written. it was becoming a blueprint of whatever george was imagining in his head, and he never once stopped to think or erase. when he was done, he put the pencil down on the table and leaned back in his chair.

“what the fuck is this?” sapnap said, tilting his head to get a better view of the picture. dream smiled, putting a hand on georges head and ruffling the boys hair. 

“it’s a map, idiot.” 

_ ——— _

sapnap and wilbur were walking down the thick trees that covered the forest, droplets of rain spotting their clothes with darker shades of what it was originally. it was silent for the most part, only the crunching of leaves and rain being audible; until sapnap broke the tense silence,

“so, that niki girl. i’ve seen how you look at-“ 

“shut up.” wilbur quickly shut him down,  receiving a laugh from sapnap who kept teasing him. 

“hey man she’s like a girl version of you. you’re perfect for each other.” sapnap smirked, putting his arms over his head in a stretch.

“she’s a rook sapnap.”

“apparently not anymore doc, if she’s helping us infiltrate the kings base do you really think she’d still consider herself a rook?” 

sapnap had a point, a very valid point that wilbur would never admit too. 

_ “so here’s the plan,” george started, “ i drew out everything you need to know about the club. all the entrances, exits and secret rooms.” _

_ “hold up how do you know this?”  _

_ “i’ve been there for a long time, it’s basically embedded into my head.”  _

_ “no one would even try to remember that though.” punz argued  _

_ “you would if you’ve wanted to escape for the longest time,” niki interrupted. she moved towards george and hugged him. “i’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you, i should’ve tried to help you since the start.”  _

_ george smiled, hugging the girl back. “that wasn’t your duty.”  _

both men came into a clearing, the city lighting up in front of them. they were still far away from their actual destination, but every step got them closer and closer. they nodded at each other before continuing their small journey.

_ “we only need a few people if you’re sure you can get the job done. at this time right now, the king should be at the club with the other bishops and rooks. niki can tell you their posts but from what i’ve seen and analyzed, they are always in the same places but switched every day. which means tommy should be on the bottom floor.”  _

_ “and tubbo alongside with him.” niki added _

_ “two of you can go inside and look for tommy and tubbo. on the outside, the other group will stand where sapnap was that one night and pick off the two bishops and king. we’ll recreate what happened last week but this time eliminating everyone.” george finished. _

_ “what if the two inside are spotted while talking to tommy?” _

_ “then you kill and escape. at that point, there is no reason to fight for tommy and tubbo.” it was the harsh truth, and though george had been able to manufacture this plan in his head, there were only so many chances they’d get before being discovered, and he didn’t want go back to that apartment room ever again. _

_ “alright, seems solid,”callahan chimed in, “we’ll do it like this: wilbur and sapnap, you two will go inside the club; you’re the least suspicious ones that can pull this off, niki cannot go or she’ll be recognized. dream and george, you head to the office building and wait for sapnap and wilbur to come back with tommy and tubbo, while also waiting for the king and his bishops to leave. you’ll finish the job. punz, i want you to stay here with niki and bad. make sure his wounds are treated niki. and punz, use your nerdy skills to disabled their cameras and communication devices.”  _

_ “yes boss.” they all said in unision.  _

———

as george was getting ready to head out with dream, he started to think about bad, and how they hadn’t been able to talk because of the unconscious state the older man was in. he wanted to know what happened, since niki hadn’t bothered to explain it to them. it only made him angrier, disgusted that his friend was picked on by the king of all people. it didn’t seem like long ago when he had first arrived to meet the other pawns; he was a shy and scrawny boy, with beat up hair and a selfish demeanor. the king was fond of him right away, analyzing him from head to toe; and when he realized how shy but expressive george was, he made sure to never let go of him. 

and then he saw bad. whenever he was put with the other pawns in the club, bad would approach him, greeting him and asking him how he was feeling. but george wasn’t very fond of it, and he remembered snapping at the man one time.

_ “WHY DO YOU CARE SO FUCKING MUCH! WE’RE PAWNS, WE ARE NOTHING!”  _

george thought that in that moment he had for sure crushed the mans dreams completely, stripping him of all the hope he’s ever had. a part of him felt bad, but he knew that at some point they’d all have to face the sad reality.

_ “ _because_ we’re more than that, you’re more than that. you were someone before you ended up here, you have a story.”  _

he remembered the many times he cried in bad’s arms, pleading the universe for a new life. wishing he could go back at least a couple years so he could start over. the man would always hold him, letting him cry his eyes out until he was drained, and then carry him to his room. he’d face the consequences for stepping into places he wasn’t supposed to ve, but he did it for george, to one day hopefully see a spark of hope in the young man. and as the years passed, he could see the straight line on georges face turn into a sly smile. it was the slightest bit of progress, but it made bad smile, and he knew one day george wouldn’t have to live this life anymore. 

“hey, you ready?” dream popped into georges room. they had been able to give the boy his own room, since it would be pretty awkward to share a room with dream. 

“yeah i guess i’m ready.” george looked at the ground, nervously playing with his fingers. he heard dreams footsteps getting closer to him, and the blonde stood next to him, suddenly cupping georges face with his hands.

“you’re gonna be ok, you’re not going back there. after this is all sorted out, we’ll enjoy life.” the blonde smiled. he truly had a way with words, and if it wasn’t for the nervousness george was feeling, he would’ve responded with something just as cheesy. 

“when we get back, we’ll explore vegas. we can eat a shit ton of food, ride that ungodly large ferris wheel and at the end of the day, we can sit in the field outside and watch the sun go up.” dream grinned, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink.

george raised an eyebrow, “go up? how late are we gonna be out?” he questioned the boy jokingly.

“vegas is more fun at night. plus, it can be just us.” dream blushed, the one time he slightly broke eye contact. george smiled and grabbed the blondes hand, caressing it with his thumb.

“that would be wonderful.” 

one day they would all move into a new life, a completely different universe where it was only them, somewhere they could forever call home. 

———

wilbur and sapnap continued walking through the long field that would eventually lead them to the city. it resembled that of a farm field, with beautiful grass that was being soaked in water but still keeping its form. sapnap kept his hood on, preventing the water from fully drenching his already wet hair. he was sure they would come back sick and that would only delay their plans, so he tried not to expose himself so much to the rain. he suddenly walked into wilbur’s arm, which was extended out to stop the younger man from proceeding forward. 

“hey man what the heck?” he asked, slightly annoyed as he looked up at wilbur, seeing the serious expression plastered on the mans face. 

“shit.” wilbur mumbled as he lowered his arm and got in front of sapnap. the younger boy peaked through wilburs side and recognized the two familiar faces he had once seen on paper files. his breathe hitched and he reached for his gun slowly as the two bishops, anais and eret, started to get closer. 

“how the fuck are they here?” wilbur whispered to sapnap as the boy cocked the pistol in his hand. 

“don’t know, but this is bad...really bad.”


	12. tommy and tubbo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for 300 kudos!

_ “tommy! look at this look at this!” _

_ “what is it now tubbo?” _

_ “It’s a bee tommy! a bee!” _

tommy made an annoyed face looking down at the dirty uniform in his hand. it was too small to cover his whole arm length, and the pants would cut off short if he were to wear them. so it was evident to tommy that the uniform in his hand, found lying on his shared floor, belonged to tubbo. he sighed, looking at the young boys sleeping form. they shared a room together, with beds on opposite sides of the room and dirty clothes scattered on the marble floor, mostly tubbos. 

“tubbo i’ve said it many times before, put your clothes in the bin!” tommy said almost pleading as he picked up the rest of the clothes and threw them into the clothes bin. he heard tubbo shuffle, responding with a groan. 

_“they’re gonna sting you idiot.”_

_ “no they won’t tommy they’re nice bees!”  _

tommy picked up the laundry bin and walked to the washing machine in the other room. most of the dirty clothes was tubbos, but he didn’t mind washing the youngsters clothes. it would save water apart from time. they had been together for so long now that he was used to doing all the chores while tubbo slept. he checked the pockets of all clothing items to make sure nothing was inside and would get washed up. when he reached into tubbos uniform pocket, he felt the wrinkly piece of crumbled paper that sunk to the bottom and pulled it out, eyeing it curiously. when unfolded carefully as to make sure it wouldn’t rip he smiled, admiring the little doodle that belonged to tubbo. the boy had drawn a cute little bee on line paper and tommy could clearly see where he had messed up and why he decided to crumble it up in the first place. instead of throwing it away, tommy folded the piece of paper carefully and slid it into his pocket; he would put the little doodle with the rest of tubbos drawings. he truly admired how artistic the boy was, and even though it annoyed him to be surrounded by flying paper, he always loved seeing the outcome of little lines coming together. 

_ “i told you it would sting you.” _

_ “mmm but i thought it would be different this time!” tubbo cried, tears streaming down his face at the pain in his finger.  _

they were normal kids when they had first met, tommy bumping into a shorter kid and knocking down his icecream. after such an encounter, the least tommy could do was buy the boy another icecream cone; and he did. from then on, the youngster wouldn’t leave him alone, and he attached himself to tommy like a little boy does with his older brother. 

_“here, we can go ask nikis mum for help.” tommy grabbed the boys other hand, pulling him up and walking away from the bees._ niki’s mom was an excellent doctor,always helping the kid’s with scraped knees and that of the sort. that was, until she died and niki took off with her grandfather. tommy and tubbo wentto the same school as her, and missed niki greatly when her seat became abandoned. she would occasionally show, and though her attendance wasn’t the best, she still managed to graduate alongside tubbo and tommy. they continued on to the same high school, before niki dropped out. 

it wasn’t until one rainy morning that tommy saw niki again, after months of going ghost, the girl offered tommy a lifelong job alongside her and her grandfather, tubbo included. and so tommy accepted, not really thinking about the extremities that came with the job. tommy and tubbo were trained, not as regular employee’s, but as soldiers who would become part of an army. their little undeveloped brain didn’t think of it any differently than a normal job, and did everything they were asked to do; even kill. and so this became the kings army; a bunch of young men who didn’t have a path in life and chose an easy way out. rooks who were pressured into surviving without really wanting to. as long as tubbo was with him, tommy was ok.

_ “she’s dead.” _

_ “how?” _

_ “a rebel.”  _

———

“come on tubbo we have to be on our way!” tommy shouted from the bathroom, washing his face with cold faucet water. they had to be at the club by midnight alongside the other rooks who would be guarding the king. tommy was considered a knight, being in charge of the rook army alongside anthony, another ruthless chessmen. yet again, so was ponk, and the man got murdered. tommy laughed at the thoughts in his head. knowing ponk died to a rebel boosted his ego. 

“TUBBO!”

“COMING JEEZ!” 

they had finally been able to leave their rooms, walking down the hallways of the large apartment complex until they reached the bottom floor. though tommy wasn’t quite of age to drive he was the designated driver for the duo. his fancy fucking car would prove otherwise and thanks to lucien he was able to afford it, while also saving up the rest for a future he didn’t know was possible. 

the city was beautiful that night. they always passed by the famous high roller on their way to the club.

“hey tommy, let’s go on the high roller later today!” 

tommy made a face, still keeping his eyes on the road. “that big ass ferris wheel? aren’t you scared?” 

“well a little but the view must be beautiful up there don’t you think?” 

tubbo had the biggest smile plastered on his face as he stuck his head out of the car window, like a little kid with his hair flying all over the place. tommy had promised him that they would go to the small fair at some point and take a break from all the chaos around them. 

“sure, we can go tonight after work.”

“thank you tommy!”

_ “thank you tommy!” _

_ “be careful next time, bees aren’t our friends.” _

_“maybe they’re misunderstood tommy, i want to understand them. i want to be their friend!”_

tubbo was sensitive but in a way that balanced with his other emotions. he was the perfect example of complex; a rollercoaster on a rail of emotions he couldn’t quite control, yet sat comfortable in the front seat with his arms raised high. it wasn’t always thrilling, but he made the most out of each lap. he felt things any compassionate human being should feel; he feels sad when someone dies, angry when he can’t do something, and hoppy when with tommy. he showed tommy all the sides of himself, even the ugly and embarrassing ones. and tommy stood by him since the start, never once doubting their friendship and always helping when in need. tubbo just wished he could do the same for tommy. 

when they were halfway to the club they received specific instructions from eret to meet him and anais at a field farther away from where they were normally situated. it was a little suspicious, but they were in no position to question their superior. after punz’s death, the army control was handed to eret, the second most responsible. lucien didn’t even trust his own sister with his business. but to be fair, she was devilishly chaotic. 

———

sapnaps cursed under his breath as the two bishops kept walking towards them. the woman on the left had an evil smile drawn on her face, never once changing her frightening expression. next to her was eret, who’s thick shades covered his eyes. the grass under them shriveled with each stent they took, and sapnap could swear the rain started to fall harder. 

“well hello gentlemen, it’s nice to see you again.” 

‘ _again?_ ’ 

“shut up eret. might i ask where you are both headed?” anais said sarcastically. 

“i’m sorry i don’t think we know each other.” wilbur chimed in, grabbing spanaps arm and pulling the younger boy to start walking.

“oh but i know you!” anais walked closer, “i know everything about you.” 

wilbur gulped nervously with sweat forming on his head. he put himself in front of sapnap again but the younger pushed past him.

“shut up bitch. get out of our way.” sapnap said as he pushed past the women but was suddenly thrown on the ground with the single swing of an arm. anais pulled out a steel combat knife, putting it up to sapnaps throat and pressing lightly. 

“sit tight kiddo, we’re gonna be here a while.” 

as if on queue, the light footsteps of tommy and tuboo’s boots hittting the ground got louder, both boys coming into view. suddenly heavy lidded and dizzy, wilburs head started to hurt. it felt like a painfully sharp needle had quickly passed through his head, causing him to wobble in place while his vision blurred. he saw the taller boys face and for a split second, his memory clouded with scenes he never knew were captured. his chest rose with ever breathe he took, ever single movement he made sent shivers down his spine. he wanted to vomit so badly at the confusion in his head, lost and unsure of why the two boys in front of him seemed like long lost people in another life of his. 

“ _tommy! tubbo! behave yourselves please!”_

_ “but w..l..ur!”  _

the voices in his head became distorted like that of static coming from a TV. wilburs felt as though his head might explode from panic. 

“who’s this?” tommy asked eret, putting his hands on his knees to catch a breath. tubbo catches up a second later, looking directly at wilbur and noticing the man slipping from reality.

“hey is he ok?” tubbo started, walking towards wilbur in a cautious but concerned manner.

“tubbo, boy please step back.” anais said, never once releasing her grip on sapnap who still lay uncomfortably under her blade. 

“what are you doing! do you even know them?” 

“they’d rebels idiot!” anais shouted hysterically.

tommy gritted his teeth. as much as he wanted to talk back to anais and tell her to watch her mouth, to never talk to tubbo that way; he knew it’d cause more trouble. instead he looked away, noticing how calm yet concerned eret looked. 

“eret, what’s going on? why’d you tell me to come here?”

eret didn’t respond. he stood there, waiting for the right time to make an announcement. wilbur suddenly fell on his knees, clutching his head painfully as the distorted voices got louder. 

“ _tommy, i want ..ou...do...heart....desires.”_

_ “i’m counting on you.”  _

it was as if his brain only wanted him to hear certain things, blurring out words while giving him every other sentence to work with. then he remembered why he was there in the first place, and he collected himself quickly. as he saw tubbo get close to him, he quickly pulled the boy down, ripping off his ear piece and putting it into the boys ear. tubbo panicked, thrashing around but to no avail against wilburs strength. 

** “ **tubbo! it’s** me, niki!”  **

tubbos eyes widened, crouching still as he heard niki’s voice on the mic. 

** “listen to me, i need you to get out of there bud, please! if you stay, you’ll be killed! they’re using you, but once you become useless to them they’ll kill you! take tommy with you and follow wilbur and sapnap, they’ll keep you guys safe. please tubbo, for me, for tommy.”  **

tubbo couldn’t tear his eyes away from the ground, lost in the words that flooded his ears. he couldn’t process what niki had just said, but he listened carefully as other familiarities creeped their way into his head. 

“tommy, do me a favor and kill that fucking rebel.” anais said, lifting the blade slightly from spanaps throat. tommy stood still noticing how lost the two men appeared. the more he stared at their interaction, the more his brain drew a mental picture that seemed more like a memory. he felt that deja vu sensation, head pounding with chaotic screams. 

“that’s an order tommy.” 

tommy shut out every sound around him, trying hard to focus on the voice in his head. he was so close to getting it, brushing at the tip of his fingers but slipping at ever attempt tp wrap his hand around it. tubbo fought his brain in the same way, as if he was running through a thick forest to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. and just when they both reached the end of the road, meeting again, did they look beyond at the light that so closely resembled a place they called home. both their heads shot up, tommy looking at wilbur and tubbo gripping on his elders shirt. 

“wilbur, it’s you.” they said in unison. behind them, the man with shades smiled, starting to walk towards anais. 

“useless kid.” she said monotonly.

a shot rang through the air, a single shot that echoed through the entire valley, reaching the city but overrun by a million other decibels. 

tommy’s eyes widened in horror, seeing tubbos body fall to the ground. blood flowed out of the side of his head, colliding with the soft grass under him. 

tommy only remembered reaching for the gun in his holster, stopping dead in his tracks as he felt the wind get knocked out of his system. he too fell to the ground with a thud, eyes wide at the pain he felt in his chest. 

“and you can go with him. what an excuse of a knight you are.” anais lowered her gun, finally pointing it at sapnaps head. the boy under her teared up, starting to close his eyes in defeat as his whole life replayed in his head.

‘ _what a terrible way to die_ ’. 

“eret, kill the other rebel.” silence, pure utter silence before another shot rang through the air, this time coming from eret’s gun. sapnap felt a heavy weight, struggling to push off the body that lay on top of him. he was breathing heavily, successfully pushing the body to the side with blood splattered over his white shirt. next to him lay anais’ motionless body, a bullet hole through her head which killed her instantly. sapnap looked up at eret, confused but grateful, and only received a blank stare from the other man. 

“it’s nice to see you again nick.” 

sapnaps eyes widened again, “how do you know my name.” he asked shakily. eret reached up to grab his shades, pulling them off to reveal the tears that threatened to spill. 

“i’ll explain later, but right now...” eret trailed off, turning towards wilbur. 

wilbur was still on his knees, cradling tubbos body in his arms, pulling on the boys shirt as if he was going to disintegrate at any moment. a few feet away lay tommy who pulled himself up, crawling towards wilbur and tubbo with all the strength he had left. 

“t-tubbo, b-buddy no.” he cried, tears falling from the enormous pain in his chest. he adjusted himself so that he too could hold tubbos body, seeing the bullet hole that remained on the side of the kids head. tommy cried, he cried harder than he had ever cried in his life, pulling tubbo closer and closer but receiving no response from the younger boy. 

“t-tubbo p-please. we w-were s-supposed to r-ride the fer-ris wheel.” he choked out, blood flowing out of his mouth and landing on tubbos cheeks. they were surround by a pool of beautiful red, their bodies embraced by vines that started to sprout from thin air. 

“tommy, i remember.” wilbur said, he himself crying as he pulled both boys against him. he held on to them for dear life, crying into tommy’s hair as he protected their bodies with his own. the lifeless but fragile boy in one arm while a slipping life laid in the other arm. he didn’t want to waste time with words, and instead held both boys until the other could peacefully pass. 

“wilbur, d-do you thin-k th-there’s another life a-after this?” tommy choked out, eyes half lidded and arms slowly falling to his side. everyone’s eyes widened as they saw a black vine, with thorns and roses forming around it, start to wrap loosely around both boys’ bodies. it moved slowly, coveringuntil it reached their shoulders, then only wrapping itself carefully around their necks and over the head. 

wilbur watched in astonishment at the beauty in front of him. it seemed like the part in a fairy tale where an entity made its appearance to deliver the main conflict. the buds on the vine started to blossom, spreading into beautiful roses that covered the entirety of their physical existence. 

“i’m glad i got to see you again wilbur.” tommy said, smiling sadly as his legs started to disintegrate into a mix of particle and rose petals. 

“tubbo, my friend, i’ll see you again soon bud.” tommy hugged his friends body which also started to wither away. and after a few seconds they were nothing but rose petals that lingered in the air, being blown away into the world without another trace.wilbur sat there, reaching for the rose petals with both hands, hoping that he could grab ahold of something and pull them right back out. but as he sat there flailing his arms, realization hit that they were indeed gone. sapnap got up slowly, keeping his eyes on the rose petals that soon vanished. 

eret stood idle behind them, looking into the moon as if it was going to give him the answers he wanted. 

“it happened again huh?” 

———

tommy’s eyes hurt. he felt cold and itchy, like something was poking his back and his arms. when he regained consciousness he opened his eyes slowly, being flashed with a light as bright as the sun. his eyes automatically adjusted, overwhelmed with bright colors that barged their way in. the first thing he saw was the sun in its mighty glory. then as he sat up slowly, saw the deep green grass he was laying on. it swayed in one direction, with flowers of all kinds surrounding his body. 

“where am i?” he said to himself. he stood up with no hesitation and walked aimlessly around, hoping to find something or soemone. in the distance he could see trees of all kinds with hills and mountains in the background. animals which stood by each other, pigs, cows and chickens; even occasionally spotting a wild rabbit. 

a figure, almost a shadow caught his eyes attention. there was someone standing next to a tree, twirling around with tiny flying creatures surrounding them. tommy squinted his eyes and continued walking towards the stranger.

“hey! hi hello any idea where we are?” 

the person stopped dancing, now looking directly at tommy before dropping their arms to their sides. 

“tommy?!” 

tommy immediately recognized the voice and without another second of hesitation started running towards his bestfriend. their bodies crashed together, falling on the floor from the intensity of their embrace. the environment around them was no stranger in their head, and the flying creatures, who turned out to be bees, surrounded them with excitement.

“look tommy! they’re not stinging us!” tubbo exclaimed, dancing around the oak tree with tommy following shortly after. 

‘my friends, i wish you the best of luck. we’ll be waiting on the other side.’ 

———

when niki was told that sapnap and wilbur had returned, she expected to throw herself into tommy and tubbos arms, scolding them for taking so long. she was waiting nervously, thinking of what she would say when they arrived.

but when the bunker door opened and in walked sapnap, wilbur and eret with their heads hung low; an unreadable expression across their face, niki collapsed to the floor. 

she knew she was going to cry. 

she didn’t expect to cry mourning tears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god this was so incredibly hard to write. sometimes it’s hard to write scenes you imagine in your head but here it is :(   
> it was so hard to write something this sad because i love tommy and tubbo but the story must go on.


	13. red painted kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘though my actions are lustful, i only intend to love you with all my heart’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really really recommend listening to the song ‘Tear You Apart’ by She Wants Revenge for the club/ dream and george scene.  
> the start with be marked with an asterisk (*)

niki felt empty, like a hollowed out pumpkin that progressively started to rot. it was as if the words that came out of sapnaps mouth bounced right off her ears. she could only hear the heavily connotative and precise choice of words sapnap used. 

_ shot, betrayed, black vines, roses, disintegration.  _

the glass room they were huddled in dropped heavily in temperature, almost as if mocking them with the oddly cold feeling of a dead body. even though they were wearing multiple layers of clothing they still felt the frigid air that creeped its way into the medics office. it resembled that of a hospital room, with white walls covered in documents, and to add some effect; the ironic gelid feeling that would embrace its patients. wilbur leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and running his slender fingers through his hair. the events that unfolded most recently lingered hazily in his head and he thought long and hard about how he would give an explanation. 

across from him stood eret, who leaned against the glass wall with his shades clutched in his hand. though he had just met the man a few moments ago, he had memories that flooded his head where he was alongside him. it was a weird sensation, like he was feeling deja vu every second. deep down wilbur knew everything about eret, even simple things such as his favorite color and his preferences, but he was unaware of how he knew these things. he felt familiarity with him, wanting to strike a conversation like he would with sapnap or dream. 

“eret can explain.” sapnap interrupted everyone’s zoned out state, now raising their heads simultaneously to look at eret. 

“it’s hard to explain and you probably won’t believe me but i’ll tell you anyways. i started to remember things i never knew existed in my head. i saw faces of people i didn’t recognize, some appearing more often than others. then i heard voices that connected themselves with faces and it all started to come together. i don’t exactly know what this means, but i know that i have met you all before at some point in my life. when tommy was...yknow, he claimed to have remembered wilbur, whispering things i couldn’t quite catch but i think the same happened to him.” eret took a breathe, looking around the room to read clueless expressions, mostly gloomy but some intrigued. 

“i got mine all at once and in a second i remembered things from a different time. even now i’m still remembering things as they come.” eret turned to wilbur, approaching the frustrated man and knelt down in front of him. 

“i’m sure it’s happening to you right now, don’t be scared. you already know how this ends.” he whispered. 

“how can we even trust him?” punz blurted out. he was a bit skeptical about the whole situation, and he himself saw it as a big joke sapnap had probably planned out.

“he killed the other bishop. she was going to kill my ass.” sapnap said pointing a thumb at himself. he turned towards eret and nodded in acknowledgment. 

“thank you, for saving me.” 

eret smiled and ran a hand through the boys hair, messing up the silk strands. 

“you sound weird when you thank people.” 

———

the crew had decided to walk back to the meeting rooms to alert callahan of what had happened. when walking down the long hallway, sapnap sneakily slipped away from the group and proceeded towards his room. on his bed lay an already prepared outfit: a plain white shirt that he would layer with a black long sleeve, a pair of black ripped jeans, and a long black cape with a fire emblem on the side arm. his eyes wandered to his night stand, eyeing the matte gas mask that presented itself to his eyes appeal. 

sapnap smiled almost evilly while changing into his new clothes. he waltzed over to the night stand and picked up the gas mask carefully, rubbing the sides with his thumbs.

“look at you all shiny and shit.” he laughed to himself. he shoved the mask into his bag along with the other equipment that would be used later. he failed to notice the other item placed on his desk, but after double taking saw the pair of white goggle-like glasses sitting neatly. 

‘ _give these to george sippy cup_ ’  read the sticky note stuck on the lens’. sapnap sighed annoyingly and slipped the glasses into his bag. in a swift motion he swung it over his shoulder, exiting his room quietly and heading towards the bunker exit. he was going to meet dream and george at the club and hopefully take out a mass amount of the kings men. 

sapnap would indeed light the world tonight.

———

“when do you think it’ll happen to us?” 

the group was resting in the meeting rooms, each sat in their respective chairs outlining the circular table. 

“not sure, it could happen in a few seconds, a minute, hours or even years.” eret tried to explain as best as he could. it didn’t help that he was constantly getting headaches caused by an overflow of information. wilbur shared that pain with him, every so often having to put his head down from the pressure.

“i remember things about us, but they never happened here. it was in a different place.” wilbur stated, glancing at niki who already had eyes on him. he remembered things about niki as well; dialogue that resembled that of a romantic comedy, the spacing of their bodies just inches away from each other, and their heartwarming conversations where they revealed their love for each other. 

‘ _my niki, darling please remember.’_

wilbur also remembered tommy and tubbo. the two kids who saw him as their father figure were now somewhere in another world, dancing around like little kids under no supervision. wilbur knew exactly where they were and despised the scenery of their awaiting fate. 

“do you remember it now?” eret questioned the medic. 

“yes, it’s the most vibrant thing in my head.” 

on the other side of the room punz bounced out of his seat, stretching his arms over his head and groaning tiredly. 

“well whatever happens happens. the important thing now is piecing everything together. we’ll wait for dream and the others to take care of the king and then we’ll figure this out.”

everyone nodded their heads in agreement and started to disperse. punz made sure everyone was accounted for before turning towards callahan, who still remained seated in his throne. 

“what do you think of all this?”

the man pondered without looking up from the ground. his hands wrapped around themselves and he used them to rest his chin while he hummed away. 

“i just have a bad feeling.” 

“don’t we all?” 

———

at the top of the office building dream and george sat on opposite sides of the wall that separated them. they had been waiting for the clock to strike 2am for a few hours now and every so often made sure to check if people were leaving the club. when it was time, they would raid the building with sapnap and take out as many rooks as they could with guns, axes and their bare hands. 

“it’s almost time.” george broke the silence that intimidated him. he was a nervous wreck on the cold stone floor, contemplating how he would execute his skills on the people who made his life hell for the past years. he wasn’t a violent person but considering the amount of shit he’s dealt with, he wasn’t opposed to the idea of bathing in his abusers blood. 

“where the hell is sapnap.” 

dream was clearly impatient as he paced around, staying on the other side of the wall where george could only hear his feet making contact with the floor. 

“he’ll get here, don’t stress.” george said reassuringly. 

dream stopped pacing around, instead reclining himself on the wall and slowly sliding down into a sitting position. he hated that they chose this layout to sit in, separated by a man-made structure that could easily be destroyed with a heavy swing of georges axe. there was so much he wanted to ask the brunet without giving away that he was totally attracted to him; such as why he was so familiar and whether they had met before. 

“hey dream?” 

“hm?” 

“thank you, for everything.” it was mumbled but still audible, and dream started to figure out why george was always mumbling and looking down at the floor. when dream wasn’t around he’d catch george sulking by himself in comparison to when he was around dream, where he was more talkative and open about what he was feeling. 

“thank you for bringing me with you, meeting everyone, and even just protecting me. it’s something new for me and to be honest i wouldn’t blame you if after all this you want me gone...”

dream quickly started to get up from the floor, walking to the other side where george was. 

“not that i should want to stay but i just needed to thank you before anything because i really appreciate it and i don’t think i’m worth doing all this for, so if you want i can just-“ 

in a number of secondsgeorge was being pushed against the wall. dream was on one knee, but he still had to look up to see his face fully. green emerald eyes stared down at him, full of unreadably emotions that ate away at george’s dark chocolate eyes. dream placed a hand on georges chin, holding it as he ran his thumb over the boys bottom lip, rubbing it in a side to side motion. 

“shut the fuck up, you talk too much nonsense” he said in a raspy monotone voice that made george shiver and gasp lightly. dream moved down closer to george face, their noses just inches away from each other.

“stop saying stupid shit like you don’t deserve this, because trust me, you do. i was gonna take that asshole down anyways, i’m just glad i met you along the way. trust me, i want to do this.” 

george couldn’t help but tear up at dreams response. he used harsh words in a loving way, expressing himself with no filter whatsoever. he was the complete opposite of george, saying what was on his mind no matter what anyone thought about it. dream resembled a warrior who persevered his way through life, and the difference between him and george was that dream was the one being reassuring instead of the other way around. the brunet considered himself weak, and maybe if years ago he hadn’t given up on his desires and aspirations, he could’ve ended up somewhere else instead of being on a roof about to go on a killing spree. 

“george...” dream slurred again, titling his head to the side to better intimidate the man under him. the way dream said his name made george’s stomach tingle with overwhelming emotions. his back was still pressed against the cold stone surface and he gulped heavily before gradually pushing himself off the wall,poking into dreams bubble of lust. as he was leaning into dream the blonde was moving down towards him, and only breathes away did their lips make the slightest contact before they were startled. 

“fuck!” they heard sapnaps familiar shout. both men quickly pulled away - george backing his head into the wall with force and dream holding back a laugh at the boys  _ow_. 

“sorry i’m late guys.” sapnap said, hoisting himself over the edge of the building where the ladder was. 

“that shits scary as fuck man.” he ran a hand through his hair and walked in between george and dream.

“took you long enough, did you bring everything?”

sapnap nodded and then looked at the ground grievously. dream and george looked at each other worriedly and then back at sapnap.

“uh tommy and tubbo...they uh.. they didn’t make it.” 

george and dreams eyes widened. their heads swirled with questions, baffled as to how such a simple task could’ve gone so wrong. 

“how?” george said in a whisper. he never really talked to tubbo but occasionally bumped into tommy. regardless of their relationship, he always looked up to the young knight. 

sapnap took a few minutes to explain things how eret phrased them. he tried his best to describe the phenomenon before their eyes, how their bodies disintegrated like shattered glass in thin air. the confusion on their faces was almost laughable at, but the seriousness they gave off from their bodies said otherwise. 

“well, there goes that fucking plan.” 

dream turned around so he could look at the club below them. the street started to flood with people who were getting kicked out and they waited for the crowd to start blowing off. 

“we don’t have time to be sad right now, it’s time.” dream turned back towards his friends with a wide smirk, cueing for sapnap to empty his backpack. the black-haired man set his bag on the ground and started to pull out the items he had stuffed beforehand. in his hands he held a black gas mask, white clout glasses, and dreams signature smiley face mask. 

“these are specifically for you, thank punz.” sapnap smiled, already knowing how the boy would react. george raised an eyebrow while grabbing the glasses out of sapnaps hand, and without hesitation put them on. his vision suddenly changed drastically and he saw shades of colors he’s never eyed before. 

“what the fuck is this.” george looked around at the colorful city around him, lights of all colors flashing in his eyes. he turned towards dream and sapnap, finally being able to see the true colors of his comrades. 

“well, is it any different?” dream smiled as he walked closer to george. he saw how the shorter boy looked up at him with a twisted mouth like he was about to cry. geroge raised his hands up and grabbed onto the drawstrings of dreams sweater. 

“you look so...your eyes are beautiful.” 

george stared into dreams eyes, mesmerized by the different colored spotting in the blondes eyes.

“ew stop flirting love birds. now here, these are for you guys.” sapnap pulled out a green cape and a dark blue cape out of his bag, handing them to the two men in front of him. 

“now we’re ready.”

———

george couldn’t explain the adrenaline rush he was having while crossing the street. he held his axe by its wooden handle, the moonlight reflecting from the shiny metal as he swung it around. they had all put their capes and face accessories on to conceal their identities - and without much of a second thought, broke through the front entrance windows, glass crumbling down on the concrete sidewalk which echoed down the empty streets of las vegas boulevard. from inside the club they could heard the music which was still blasting from the speakers, sending vibrations through the buildings walls and windows. 

the sound of glass shattering was concealed by resounding sounds working in their favor, and they continued their strut down the hallway and into the main dance area. in front of them stood a rook who’s back was towards them, and dream twirled his combat knife around in his hand before plunging it deep into the mans neck. he received a mix of gargles and chokes before confirming his ruthless kill, treating it like a point system where he planned to outnumber the other two men. dream wiped the blade on his sweater, leaving a stain next to sprinkles of red which copied themselves on his mask. 

and so they continued, hiding in the shadows where they would remain undetected, and only when they had been discovered did they thrash out with their weapons in hand. sapnap didn’t care for staying quiet, the music would help - deafening anyone who was listening from outside. he pulled out his matted assault rifle which he called  baby  and released its piercing bullets into rooks’ bodies, punching holes left and right as if they were pieces of paper. sapnap started to head upstairs where he would take out anyone and everyone that got in his way.

on the other side of the bar was dream, who took down those who tried shooting at sapnap. the knife in his hand penetrated through multiple throats, heads, and stomachs - covering dream, as well as the floor, in a thick coat of blood. a rook he didn’t see threw himself forward, swinging his fists in the air as dream dodged all their attempts at hitting him. he collided against the man, stabbing his knife into his stomach and holding his head with his other hand. he made sure to twist it around, pushing it deeper and deeper into the boys intestines. (*)the song playing previously changed into something more suitable for their crazed out mood. dream was furious, he was so fucking heated that he didn’t realized himself repeatedly stabbing into the boys stomach, who was already dead after the first ten stabs. he let the body fall on the floor, the lifeless face of the man who looked about 20 contoured in a gaped mouth expression. the blonde simple stepped over the body, avoiding the flowing puddle of red on the floor, and walking towards george who stood in the middle of the dance floor. 

he didn’t have enough time to alert the brunet about the rook who was rushing him, knife in hand as he creeped his way behind george. a single swing of george’s axe cut through the mans chest, splattering blood on his clothing and face. it was the first time he was seeing the color red in it’s true form, sputtering like a fountain from the body falling to the floor.he had to admit, it was a beautiful first impression. dream smiled devilishly as he continued walking towards george, now standing side by side with him as more rooks rushed them. they put their backs against each other, waiting for the next rook group to jump them.

swing after swing, bullet after bullet. they massacred the entire army in less than 20 minutes, slicing through bodies as if they were butchers. no hesitation, no regrets; just them letting their true nature out in front of each other. bodies piled themselves around george and dream who finally let their guard down, taking out everyone on the first floor. they could still hear sapnaps bullets upstairs, eventually coming to a stop when the arsonist found the liquor cabinet. 

(song: 2:00) george panted as he turned back around to face dream. the blonde reached for his mask, pulling it over his head to look at george better. the brunet did the same, taking off his stained glasses to look dream in the eyes. the song in the background was still blasting, telling a story that fit their shoes perfectly. dream stared at george with lust, noticing how the boy looked away every so often. he started to a take a step back before rethinking whether he should follow his intrusive thoughts. 

dream wanted george so bad. he wanted to do things to him it was making him crazy. wanted to kiss him from head to toe, biting down on his pale white skin to express his undying thirst for the mans body. he tried so hard to push the thoughts out of his head, but when he made direct eye contact with george again, he saw the vulnerable look in his eyes and couldn’t hold himself back anymore. 

their bodies pressed together, connecting like the final two puzzle pieces, and this time dream cupped georges face with his hands, leaning down swiftly and connecting their lips. he could feel the moans george released into his mouth, his small pale hands seizing around his sleeve as he pushed george against the wall, hearing their weapons clatter on the floor. with his tongue he poked at georges teeth, asking to be let in so he could explore. and george approved, opening his mouth as he too wrapped his tongue around dreams, inducing a battle of lust between two tilting arousals. 

george’s body gave dream clear signals, feeling as the boy rubbed his crotch against his leg. dream broke the kissfor a second to pick up george, the smaller boy wrapping his legs around dreams waist as he leaned back in to continue their battle. he was kissing george with such force that he couldn’t get enough, urgently needing more of his sweet taste and desperate moans. rubbing turned into thrusts from dreams hips, grinding against georges smaller form as he pushed him harder into the wall. the brunet ran a hand through blonde locks, the kiss being broken to instead feel those same lips on his neck, dream biting down on him like a savory piece of cake. kiss after kiss he started to feel overstimulated, releasing sluttish moans of pleasure caused by the lips on his neck and crotch rubbing against his own. 

dream let one of georges legs fall to the side, not quite touching the floor but swinging in place, and used his other hand to grab a handful of georges hair, pulling it back forcefully. he continued to rhythmically thrust and grind against george without parting his lips from the boys neck. this produced loud gasps to escape george’s mouth, feeling himself close to climax under the blondes steady work. 

without even removing a single piece of clothing they had managed to send each other over the edge, connecting their lips once more in a final passionate kiss that wasn’t all full of lust. a trail of saliva trailed as they pulled away from each other, panting and gasping for air while staring into each other’s eyes; the song ending with a final verse. 

———

upstairs sapnap walked over the blood soaked floor, bodies on every corner of the floor. he stood in front of the big pantry entrance, looking at the racks of alcohol and wine that filled each row. his fucked up head told him to light the whole place on fire, and he intended to do just that. he grabbed two bottles of vodka and danced his way out of the pantry, pouring them out on the floor over each body he stepped over. 

form his bag he pulled out two cartons of lighter fluid and emptied them in areas he didn’t cover. sapnap made his way downstairs while lighter fluid trailed behind him. he saw george and dream standing around, staring at each other before he chimed in.

“hey love birds let’s get the fuck out of here i’m lighting this shit up.” 

dream broke eye contact with george, looking around at the massacre before them. 

“where the fuck is the king?” he shouted.

they all stayed quiet and quickly gathered their things, exiting the club through the back doors. sapnap pulled out a lighter, flicking the switch as he held the flame in his hand. 

“fuck you asshole.” he mumbled before throwing the lighter into the building, seeing the spark of a fire ignite. in a matter of seconds the flames started to engulf the building from the inside, and they slowly started to walk away from the burning structure. 

dream stood close to george, reaching for the boys hands as he interlocked his fingers with georges. 

but when they got back to the valley, they saw the king himself with a group of rooks outside the bunker door. they were wearing hazmat suits, releasing a gas through the cracks in the door. 

they cursed under their breathe while hiding behind trees, and awaited their next move. 


	14. punz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i used to hate the cold of winter. it constantly triggered my flight response and made me feel abandoned.   
> but you, you made winter a lot more enjoyable. and its become something i look forward to every year.

“this fucking asshole won’t answer. come on punz please..”

———

the king himself stood in front of the rebels’ hideout. dream had no idea how they were able to find it. none of them were ever recognized because of their masks, and there was no way someone had followed them all the way there. he turns his head slowly, widening his eyesin rhythm with his head rotation, and looks at george’s side profile. he stares for a second - a minute - until he reaches over to grab george’s neck.

the boy in hiding jumps at dream’s cold touch, and he turns his head swiftly to look the blonde in the eyes. 

“what are you doing?” he whispers from behind the bushes. in front of them were a couple men, around 4, who appeared to be rooks. next to the king stood another man of the same height, if not taller, with a uniform sapnap recognized to be like tommy’s. 

“come here, i need to check something.” dream whispers back, pulling the brunet closer to him by the neck. george could feel how cold dream’s hands were against his skin, embracing him with a winter touch only he could produce. the fingers along his neck started to travel down, exploring every nook and crannie they could reach, and finally hovering over a small bump that protruded from the left side of george’s neck. 

dream cursed at himself for committing the simplest mistake. he had completely forgotten to frisk george when he had first brought him back to the base, and now he knew exactly how the king and his men found them. with his other hand, dream pulled out his combat knife and pressed it against george’s neck. 

his hands were cold but it didn’t compare to the icy blade that was unwelcomed against george’s neck. dream was soft. the knife was rough. 

“what are you doing?” 

george quickly tried to move away from dream only to feel the grasp on his neck get tighter. 

“i need to take it out. they’ve been tracking us through you, a chip in your neck and i need to take it out whether you like it or not.” dream’s voice was harsh, and for once he wasn’t being considerate of george’s feelings. 

“he’s right man, it’s got to be done.” sapnap added and reached with his hands to push georges head and body down against the ground. the boy under them struggled, thrashing around which produced slight sounds of scrunching leaves. 

“george george hey listen,” dream started, “you need to stay still or we’ll all fucking die right here, right now. it’ll be a second, i’ll try to be quick. please, try not to make any noise.” this time george heard the slight empathy coming from the man and he acknowledged it, laying still against sapnaps pressure. they all waited in silence until george have a single head nod, signaling for dream to continue. 

he took a deep breathe, letting out small whimpers before being covered by sapnaps hand. above him dream started to panic, positioning his knife so that it would cut in the right place without killing the boy under him. he inhaled, pressing the knife into george’s neck and along the outline of the chip. 

george wiggled in pain, thrashing his body around to relieve himself of the sting in his neck. the sharpness of the knife cut into him like a fruit, with no mercy for whatever it was being used against. he remembered it to be the same knife that cut into multiple bodies, snatching the lives out of everyone and soaking the blade and himself in thick blood. but dream wasn’t killing him; instead he was helping him. 

the thrashing never stopped and the familiar red liquid that managed to blend itself with the other splatters on his body started to flow out. against dreams touch, george started to question if he would feel cold forever. 

———

“alright men, go on inside and clear the base out.” they heard the king finally announce. george lay on the ground with his head pressed into the wet grass and shriveled up leaves, not moving a muscle as he heard feet shuffling inwards. 

“come on punz please answer.” sapnap kept trying to contact his friend, switching channels to see if anyone else would signal back. everywhere he went he heard static, he could never escape it. it followed him from early birth till now, a void that his head created. he finally heard the other line go silent, background noise talking to him before punz actually said a word. 

“ ** _sapnap_**?”

sapnap jumped with excitement, holding a hand against his ear piece while his other hand stroked through strands of hair. 

“holy cow you’re ok, what the hell is going on?”he exclaimed in a whisper, still looking at the men who began to break the bunker door open. 

**_ “hey man, things aren’t looking so good out there are they?” _ **

punz’s voice sounded scared, his heavy breathes echoing to sapnaps side.

“they’re breaking down the door punz. the king’s here too.” 

_** “ah i see...” ** _

the line went quiet except for the static that once again carried out the conversation. sapnap began to worry, feeling a pit form in his stomach. 

_** “listen, i was able to get everyone else out of the bunker. they’re all safe.” ** _

“that’s great holy shit we can all meet somewhere in a bit and figure out what to do next.” 

the men at the door kicked their way in, denting the door until it was just a piece of scrap metal. 

**_“i’m gonna stay behind nick. the bunker has a self destruct that i programmed a while ago.”_ **

silence. pure utter silence that caught dream and george’s attention. the air around sapnap thinned, making it hard for him to take a steady breathe. shaky, unpredicted. 

“what?”

**_“someone has to activate it.”_ **

sapnap began to breathe heavily now, triggering a hyperventilating state his body was new to. he knew what punz was going to say, knew about the life-changing speech the white-haired man was going to give him. and he didn’t want it, he didn’t care for such a thing. he didn’t want to accept it. it must be a prank, a foul prank punz was carrying out. but the more punz talked, the more nick knew he was being serious. 

“hold on what the fuck. no. there has to be another way there’s no way i’m gonna let you just-“ 

_**“hey, it’s all gonna be ok. please, keep everyone safe yeah? you’re a strong motherfucker, i believe in you. you’ve done it before, you can do it again.”** _ punz interrupted the boy. there wasn’t any time to waste.

sapnap sat dumbfounded, looking into the hideout that he called home. they raided his only comfort place, a world where he made memories with the most important people in his life. sapnap shook with rage, agony, and despair. there was nothing he could do and that is what pained him the most. he could only watch as his home was being torn apart so quickly. on the line he heard another voice, one familiar strong voice that resonated into everyone’s ese piece. 

_**“hey everyone, you should all be able to hear me now.”** _

everyone’s heads snapped up, looking into the moon as if it was talking down to them. 

_**“you should have been able to get as far as you could from the bunker by now. the captain is here with me, and we’re leaving everything to you guys now. i love you all with my entire heart, and i’m glad i got to see you all once again. dream, sapnap, thank you for helping me grow into the person i am now. i can never thank you enough for being my friend all over again. i believe in you all, you can do this. you can set us free. in the end, we’ll meet again.”** _

geroge held a hand over his mouth, muffling his cries that threatened to spill out. dream let his head fall from its throne, for once the boy was looking down. 

sapnap didn’t have time to answer, feeling the sudden air that forcefully whooshed forwards, knocking them all down as they clutched onto each other. the bunker blew from the inside out, killing anything and everything residing inside. 

it had all happened so quick, and the familiar rose petals that once embodied tommy and tubbo came gracefully out of the bunker door, dancing in the moonlight until finally dispersing into nothing. 

———

_ to die alone is simply painful. it is even more painful when you’re crying out and no one is there to help you. that is, if you were begging for your life in the first place. you grow up rather too quickly, and before you can find a purpose in life you’ve already turned your big 21. in reality there is no meaning to life, you’re just one of billion trying to survive. or so punz thought.  _

_ his thoughts were always jumbled up, overlapping over each other like kids on a playground. they were chaotic and always changing, never giving him true satisfaction until he acted out without thinking. punz wasn’t violent, he was aggressive. he didn’t let himself get pushed around like other kids who went through their bullying phase, and he was always shamed for being an emotionless bundle of mystery.  _

_ for something to be a mystery there needs to be thrill, and punz was far away from the finish line.  _

_ when he met sapnap and dream he was working on the bunkers security system, installing cameras in hidden places as both men where being shown around.  _

_ “this is punz, our man in charge of all the technology. punz, this is dream and sapnap, our newest members.”  _

_ punz hated introductions, he tried his best to keep it quick and simple by only mumbling a quick hey.  _

_ “punz? that rhymes with buns? haha ok.”  _

_ punz felt his mouth contour into a straight line, gritting his teeth together as he turned to look at the black-haired boy who unknowingly made fun of him. he wore an outfit punz would initially call ridiculous, looking him up and down as if questioning who he thought he was. _

_ “what’s your problem man?”  _

_ “nothing im just here to learn big man.” _

_ “screw you.” _

_ “gladly will.” _

_ punz was completely taken aback. no one ever matched his type of aggression, but right in front of him was someone just as crazy, a threat to punz’s entire existence. he has never felt this type of feeling before, one where he despised an entire humans existence.  _

_ he was annoyed. _

_ after countless days punz was forced to teach dream and sapnap the basics of their security system and communication methods. he had successful taught dream the day before, and now it was sapnaps turn.  _

_ “ok ok i got it man.” _

_ “no you don’t, pay attention. this is important.”  _

_ sapnap sighed as he twirled in his chair, paying little to no attention to what punz was showing him. he had failed to notice the twitching of his eyes as the white-haired man turned quickly, a formed fist making straight contact with sapnap’s face.  _

_ the boy fell on his ass, rubbing his cheek painfully as he looked up at the hovering figure.  _

_ “i’m sick and tired of you acting all high and mighty up in here. sit the fuck down for once and listen when you’re told to! you’re not special cause you’re aggressive and carefree, so fuck off!”  _

_ what punz didn’t expect was for sapnap to bounce right off the ground, hitting him straight in the jaw and knocking him down on his back. sapnap used his hands to pin punz’s against the ground.  _

_ “shut the fuck up already. all you do is complain about the environment around you. tell me, is this really what you want? why are you here if you’re just being miserable every fucking day? you have that sly expression on your face, you hide your true self and it pisses me off. when are you going to stop pretending?”  _

_ the only way punz could respond was with tears. for once his body was showing a form of vulnerability, and he shook with every breathe he took as he tried to fight back the pit in his stomach. he didn’t have to explain though, because sapnap knew perfectly well how he was feeling. he too was conflicted with his own mind.  _

_ his hands that held down the shaking form of punz let go, instead embracing the man against his warm body. and they sat like that, expressing only their try nature with each other.  _

———

on the other side of the bunker; niki and the others hid behind the clearing of trees. before they were wiped out with the entirety of the bunker, punz had distributed gasmasks to prevent anyone from going unconscious. he was truly a mastermind who trusted his gut feeling instantly. 

in wilburs arms lay bad, who had never really come out of his coma state. and they watched sadly as the rose petals flew out into the sky, combining themselves with bad’s existence. 

they couldn’t cry, and wilbur knew things wouldn’t be any different from before. 

———

sapnap forced himself to his feet, wobbling with every step he took forward. his breathing got heavier, eventually falling into the ears of the king and his knight. dream followed suite, rising up in a dazed state that let his mask cover only half of his face.

they emerged from the trees like shadows, receiving a smirk and evil laugh in return.

“you..you’re going to suffer.” sapnap said through his gritted teeth, letting the tears in his eyes finally fall out in a stream. 

———

_ “ punz! you’re here!” _

_ “hey, we’re back here again.” _

_ “sadly yes. no women to worry about here.” _

_ “shut up bitchboy .” _

_ “language!”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update! school had been kicking my butt :(  
> i rushed a lot with this chapter and i wanted to explain punz’s background better but i’ll add that to later chapters  
> i hope you enjoyed!


	15. the traitor

hate is a strong word. one could say you hate something about someone and it’d be a cover up for the actual things you despise. you can’t just hate one thing, because in a sense it embodies that person and you can only see them in that aspect. to hate someone is to hate their entire existence. 

dream knew he hated certain things about george, but the more he thought about those things the more he realized it was george as a whole. he hated george. he hated how sensitive the boy was, trembling at the slightest raise of a hand and the pick up in someone’s tone. maybe it was because dream considered himself strong, and so he looked down on anyone who was otherwise. but he never did this with sapnap or wilbur. they each had their own speciality’s and contributions to their little army. so dream couldn’t exactly root the cause of his hatred, leaving it a mystery. 

sapnap, on the other hand, perfectly recognized the buildup in his system. the shaking fists where his nails dug holes into his palms; the sweat that formed as a result of heat rising; and the tears that flowed down his rosy cheeks. he was fit to burst at any moment, letting his head flop to the side as he reached with his right hand to pull his earpiece out. 

dream stood next to him, revealing his red stained combat knife which he would use to rip apart those in front of him. his white mask concealed the right side of his face, only showing his green emerald eye and straight lined mouth. he wasn’t twitching like sapnap was, but that didn’t account for the rage he was feeling inside. nothing good ever came out of dream being angry. he was a ticking time bomb not even he could defuse.

“now how long have you youngsters been hiding back there hmm?” the king hummed out, turning his attention towards the two men raging in front of him. the knight next to him cocked his head to the side, grinning widely with the lick of his lips. 

george didn’t dare move a muscle. his body froze over itself like water in the winter. he could feel his heart thumping against his chest, almost as if it was going to burst out with the way its beat was increasing every second. just hearing lucien’s voice terrified him and spiraled his brain into an endless black hole of unwanted visuals. 

“do you have my little pet with you? i want him back.”

he wanted to forget everything. to curl into a ball until he was too little to exist. george thought he would never have to see, let alone hear, the king again. in the moment all he wanted was to feel dream’s cold hands around him, embracing him until he fell into a deep slumber. george only found comfort in his presence.

“fuck off he’s not going back to you.” dream sneered, taking another step forward with his right leg. this lead the knight to move in front of the king, shielding him with his entire body.

“watch it green boy.” the knight laughed out crazily. he kept twisting his head and arms in obscure angles. sapnap would’ve laughed if it wasn’t for his clenching jaw being locked in place. 

the smoke that originated from the bunker created a cloud of thick grey ash that filled their noses with a foul iron smell. the king adjusted his position to raise his right leg, kicking a nearby pebblethat echoed beyond around the trees. 

“that’s a shame, guess i’ll have to do it with force.” 

dream didn’t have time to process as the knight moved swiftly past the clearing of trees, every second feet closer to dream until he was right in front of the blonde. the knife in his hand moved the slightest, and he could see the reflection of the knights katana starting to rise above his head. dreams life flashed before his eyes. he could only think about george’s stupid smile in that instant. it would be the last thing he saw before plummeting into a dark abyss.

but the sword never made contact with dream’s body. instead the knight was impaled by a soaring bullet lodged into his shoulder, throwing him to the other side like a wild hunted animal. dream’s breathe hitched nervously, blinking once - twice, before he came back down to earth. he looked over at sapnap who had his gun aimed at a poorly lit clearing above a small hill next to the bunker. he assumed that’s where the bullet must have come from. emerging from the shadows was wilbur, with his lady niki next to him. to the left of wilbur stood eret, who still had his gun aimed in dream’s direction. 

“now hold on there ant, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” eret said as he and the others made their way down the rocky piece of land. anthony sat up using his hands, ripping out pieces of grass and soil, his nails filling with dirt. 

“you..you fucking b-bitch.” he managed to spit out. 

for the first time george sighed in relief, happy that reinforcements arrived. for once, everything would be ok. eret lifted his gun once more, aiming its barrel right at ant’s head. 

“it just wasn’t meant to be.” 

george peered over the bushes he was hiding behind and smiled. he smiled with an escaped chuckle. he felt the adrenaline rush through his veins, up to his brain, and he couldn’t wait to see the execution unroll in front of him. as cocky as he was, the universe had other plans in store and it quickly wiped george’s smile off his face. 

another shot went off but it did not come from eret’s gun. his body fell to the ground slowly, causing the pile of leaves to disperse around him. niki watched with wide eyes, her legs suddenly moving without her being aware, and in seconds she was next to eret. 

“traitor.” 

———

niki’s hands were shaking. they tried so hard to cover the hole in eret’s stomach which erupted with red filling. wilbur rushed to the other side of eret, letting himself fall on his knees while pulling out his supply kit and instantly getting to work. 

“now hold on there, no saving the traitor.” the king laughed as he aimed at wilbur’s head but was instantly tackled by dream. his gun fell flatly on the ground and so initiated a hands-on fight between the two alphas. 

sapnap took the opportunity to turn his attentions towards the knight; who was already running to pounce on him. he received a few hard punches to the face but was able to return the favor. he had felt this type of pain in his face before. years ago he’d gotten into a fight with dream where the blonde won but had mercy for the younger, and that was the only time he had ever cried because of dream. 

“you shit,” one punch. he took a breathe between each pair of words. “you fucking dare,” a second punch. “step foot in this forest.” 

sapnap kept throwing his fists in the air, putting all his force into the pivot of his arm. before he could deliver a final punch he heard a loud thump from behind him, and he glanced back in hopes it was the king who’s body fell on the floor - but he saw dream. sapnap had completely forgotten about the boy under him and he was thrown to the side while his opponent scrambled to his feet, rushing towards dream. 

_ ‘dream, behind you.’n _

he quickly stumbled on his feet. 

_ ‘please, turn around.’  _

sapnap ran, tripping over himself every other step. 

_ ‘please, don’t die.’  _

he ran as fast as he could. as fast as his legs allowed him. 

_ ‘not again.’  _

his arms swayed at his sides, his breathe running out. 

_ ‘i remember now. i remember everything. it can’t end like this.’ _

the knight stopped in his tracks, instead doing a full 180 with a pistol whipped out. sapnap was a meister. he specialized in guns for as long as he could remember. he taught dream everything he knew, and he spent all his spare time studying books and magazines like a psyched out high schooler. he should’ve known better than to challenge someone who’s gun was already out. 

but without much of a though he reached for his gun as well, not thinking about where he was aiming and caring less if his form was off. dream was the only thing on his mind - he wanted to save his bestfriend. 

this time there were two bullets shot. both in opposite directions, both with the intent to kill. with sapnaps speciality he was able to hit the knight straight in the head, too fast for him to process his entire life. but in his chest resided a thick metal bullet that hindered his movements. 

it didn’t hurt.

he was going numb, his eyes wide. it was taking so long for his body to make contact with the ground, and it never did. instead he was caught and lowered to the ground slowly. eyes glossy, clothes painted red; george looked down at the arsonist who in a dazed state let his head fall to the side. 

_ ‘george..’  _

sapnap felt his lips moving but not a single word managed to get out. all he could do was look up at george who’s panicked hands rubbed sapnap’s chest. 

_ ‘you’re always so nervous. you always have been.’  _

on the other side dream’s ears started to ring. his muscles were sore from the cuts and bruises that decorated his tan arms. 

“i love you sapnap,” dream reached for his gun that had fallen out of his holster earlier. “you don’t have to fight it anymore, it’s ok.” 

sapnaps turned slowly to let his head fall on the other side of his shoulder, his bestfriend coming into his visual field. his body rejected every moving nerve in his cut up hands, his sore arms, and his beat up legs. he wanted to reach out to dream, wanted to feel some type of final comfort before going numb for good. but his arms never lifted off the ground. they hung limply at his sides like hanging decorations, with george supporting his back. he let sapnaps head rest against his chest as his legs spread to but the boys body in between. 

“i’m proud of you nick. you’re a smart motherfucker.” 

sapnaps chest stoped rising dramatically. the blood that was pouring out of his mouth subsided to small droplets like paint dripping. it’s metal taste flooded sapnaps throat, causing him to choke and spit. george’s hands cradled sapnap’s head, running his hands through the soft locks of black hair. some of it was stained and the rest humid. 

_ ‘idiot. don’t screw this up. dream...george...i’m so scared. what if we don’t come back again? ant isn’t disappearing. that’s so unfair.’  _

george watched as sapnap’s body went heavy, letting all his weight fall. his head hung to the side and his eyes now half-lidded but stripped of life. the final heavy exhale he let out was all george could think about. 

why couldn’t he remember? he knew sapnap was someone, but his head couldn’t wrap around it. 

george looked over to where wilbur and niki were, seeing eret still bleeding out on the ground. would it take them both? eret was still fighting. he felt cold air brush against him which brought back his attention to the body in his arms. the rose petals that were symbolic and tied to despair covered sapnap entirely, taking him without much permission. the headache in george’s brain progressively started to intensify with sharp impales at the sides of his head. 

dream pushed himself off the ground, putting weight on his right leg to balance his movements. without saying a single word he glanced at the katana that lay next to ant’s motionless body. his hand wrapped around the black gripped guard, with enough space for his other hand to accompany. dream could hear george’s wretched sobs from the other side and it only triggered his fight response. time around him seemed to slow down, and he stared long and hard at the ground while only being able to hear george’s cries. 

_ “who the hell are you?” _

_ “your worst nightmare, hunter.”  _

uncollected memories 

_ “we have to find it...take me with you.”  _

_ “no way.”  _

_ “please.” _

george was everywhere in his head. his voice was recognizable now, his touch long awaited. he was like a third entity that wasn’t supposed to exist. but he did. 

and dream was ok with it. he let the memories right in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sad reacts


	16. glass eye

countless lives were taken to overthrow the king’s ruling. mysteriously vanishing like powder mixing with the airs current, carried away as tiny particles to never be seen again. it was a weird concept, how something made up of billions of working mechanisms could crumble into nothing but petals and dust. how they learned to accept that that’s just how it works. that without much of a doubt they would all disintegrate into nothing, leaving empty entries of what their life once was. not that any of them ever recorded their success’ as there was really nothing to jot down in the first place. there’s always at least one thought, one action, one passion that could be expanded on. something you could talk about for countless hours with no rest. it made george feel regretful, for never making the most out of his life. he lived beneath the shadows of other people - dependent on living beings to get him through the rocky road that was life. 

he took a path his heart rejected but his brain accepted. the other road did look nice, with its smooth path and yellow painted traffic lines. while many slept in the backseat of their car with no interruptions; george bounced up and down from each pothole the wheel intentionally drove over. it didn’t help that he was pushed to ride that car headed down chaos lane. 

life was indeed unfair with his existence. he just got unlucky with this new life. maybe he’d get a better one next time. if there is a next time.

———

dream was quick to kick the gun out of the kings hand, sending it across to land in a branchy bush where anyone who tried to reach for it would feel the wrath of thorns. now he could stare down at the pathetic form of the so-called king, who backed himself away from dream using the heels of his foot for better movement.

george watched as dream marked the grass with indents of his boots pressed heavily with dominance. the katana in his right hand was being dragged next to him where the tip of the blade cut a straight line along where dream was walking. dream’s form was beautiful. he showed absolute control without the intention of stealing the throne. he simply wanted to decapitate the parasite who made his life a living hell. 

“look at you,” dream raised his left leg and stomped down on the kings chest, pinning him to the ground with the release of a grunt. “you look pathetic. i’m gonna make you suffer like you made my friends suffer.” 

george clutched his head again, pain overtaking new areas of his cerebrum. his right eye felt heavy and it shut itself while his left eye stayed open. the hand which he was using to hold sapnap now moved up to hover over his lidded eye. when he opened it again, he suddenly saw two different perspectives of the world in front of him. one side showed dull colors that he was used to seeing every single day; the other side now full of saturated shades he couldn’t even name. it was as if his world was split in half, and for the second time he could see dream’s green outfit without the opacity of the glasses. 

Dream raised the katana over his head, positioning himself so that he could swing down with all his muscle power. 

“you’re a parasite.” 

he swung down and slashed the king’s arm off. 

“you’re evil.” 

another swing at the other arm by means of unprofessional amputation. 

“you’re gonna pay,” 

the katana flew up in the air once more.

“pussy.” 

———

_ “you’re a great looking young boy, come join us. this will be your new home.”  _

_ george could’ve easily passed on the offer. no one was forcing him expect for the eyes on him at the round table. one moment he was having the time of his life, shitfaced on the dance floor and surrounded by old men, the next he was picked off by middle age men.  _

_ “home?” _

_ “home. forever.”  _

_ george didn’t know what home was. he felt as if his home was years away into the past and the future.  _

_ he only felt that type of comfort around dream.  _

_ their worlds were starting to align themselves and they had no idea when they would meet again. _

———

red decapitation blood splattered on the dead grass in front of george. half of it looked like a dirty gold, the other like a vibrant red apple. he dragged his eyes up to look at dream who simultaneously turned to look at the brunet. 

“george.” dream said with a tint of relief, but his voice was coated with obvious concern. 

“dream you did it! it’s over we did it! we...we...” 

“george...your eye.” 

his world started to swirl with the earths tilt and his body felt like it was being carried by a ghastly wind. 

dream hurried to catch george before he hit the ground, lowering himself onto his knees slowly. george’s head rested in the crook of his arm and the brunet’s lower half lay across his legs. 

“it’s ok, i’m here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very short chapter but this story is nearing an end and i just wanna say thank you for all the support so far <3 
> 
> these last two chapters will be longer and more detailed :)


	17. dream and george

_ before the rebels formed a plan to overthrow the king they were all scheduled for training with sapnap, dream, and punz. through two weeks of hell and daily training, they worked the body - reinforced the mind. george constantly got headaches that felt like deadly migraines plaguing his brain with unprocessed senses he didn’t have the capacity to store. the beaming sun made him feel lightweight when standing. noises soft as a whisper echoed selfishly into his ears. his exhaustion shoved him over at the end of each day and he’d let himself collapse into dream’s welcoming arms. losing control of his body, he couldn’t refuse the warmness that babied him. the blonde always caught him, carrying george to his bedroom to ensure he got a good nights rest. dream always felt better when george was sleeping next to him — not in a weird sexual way, but rather in the sense that after a stormy day he’d hold george with the intent to protect him; to make sure the glowing beams outside wouldn’t disturb his slumber. the nights would end with sloppy cuddles that did not carry over the next morning. the brunet had no idea that dream would hold him every time the moon was rising, that by the time the sun peaked dream would have to glue a straight line on his face — for that even the slightest form of a smile would give away that he was up to something.  _

_ but is it so wrong to long for physical affection? he was so used to holding the boy that he never took a second to think about how touch starved he was. before george he’d sleep with no company. the covers that were supposed to keep him warm instead let the cold seep through, no matter how many times dream wrapped them around himself. and now that george was there he chased for that feeling again. it didn’t matter if he wasn’t the one being spooned, he just wanted to pour his heart out into something that would stay in his life forever. george embodied his desires perfectly.  _

_ after another day of training was finished dream waltzed into wilbur’s office with a worrisome demeanor. even the medic was concerned just by seeing the shiny sweat that formed on dream’s forehead. being able to read when someone is upset serves the same way for when someone is desperate. for what? for answers. to prove or debunk a speculation. to want to know, feel, experience.  _

_ “what’s going on?” _

_ “you do medical exams every year, do you think you can move this years earlier?” _

_ “how early?”  _

_ “tomorrow...” _

_ wilbur didn’t feel the need to question dream. after all, the hitman was like his superior. age didn’t really play a factor in their little hierarchy, it was more about who served leadership and who displayed strength. wilbur knew that the blonde has a purpose for everything he does, but at the same time he felt as if the boy was hiding formed conjectures from everyone else. dream does his job better, but wilber is wiser.  _

_ “sure.”  _

_ wilbur would call each member one-by-oneinto his office to proceed with a standardized examination; checking their ears, eyes, parts of their bodies and, for extra precaution, a scan of their brains. it wasn’t something any doctor would do, let alone recommend to a patient, but wilbur felt the need to do so because of their jobs.  _

_ dream went first, coming up perfectly healthy and balanced. the scarring in his arms and face started to fade away progressively and soon his peach patched skin would return to a smooth beach sand color. his brain was perfectly intact, with shadings in certain areas wilbur expected.  _

_ sapnap had to be the most impatient of them all. every few minutes he’d complain and groan that his ass hurt from sitting on the bench for so long. wilbur would’ve punched him if he wasn’t trying to concentrate on his scan results. like dream, sapnap was healthier than his attitude. _

_ punz was sleep deprived, as expected from the countless nights he had stayed up with sapnap.  _

_ callahan was developing stress side-effects from the overload of files and documents he had to review. _

_ and niki was malnourished, not having ate much when she was still living under the king.  _

_ after niki left his office he looked into the hallway to see george leaning against the wall. he looked deep in thought with his glasses resting against his hair line and his arms crossed over his chest. he looked up from the ground seconds after, locking eyes with wilbur who motioned him in. _

_ “you’re last, come inside.”  _

_ wilbur checked george’s eyes, noticing how his pupils dilated with drooping lids. his ears were healthy but the bruises along his collarbone and back were nasty, like the outcome of getting shot with a paintball gun. wilbur assumed those were caused by his training with dream. the tension in george’s muscles made wilbur want to massage him and relieve him of stress.but ultimately, it was time for george’s brain scan. _

_ “come on, last part. you’ll be out soon.”  _

_ wilbur smiled as he saw george shrink into himself, evidently frightened by all the machinery in the room.  _

_ “it’s ok. you’re ok.” _

———

at first they celebrated, for the king had fallen by the hands of dream. george couldn’t seem to contain his excitement and the pulsing headache became the last thing he cared about. most importantly in front of him was dream, who right after slaughtering the king turned to ensure george’s safety. it was like a scene from a movie where both lovers begin running towards each; with a surreal setting only they existed, for no one could interrupt the heartfelt moment they were about to have. dream could see the glow in george’s eyes —the excitement of finally feeling free. the brunet couldn’t wait to finally hold dream, to confess his undying love for the blonde again and again. life after life he’d say the same thing over and over again, “ _I love you Dream_ ” as painted on the canvas that was his soul. george’s legs wanted to give out, but he begged for another ounce of strength to reach the end of the road. feet away became inches in difference. no more entities that would separate them. 

except instead of crashing into each other, dream was catching george’s body as it fell forward. he thought that maybe the boy was exhausted and had finally collapsed, not being able to produce anymore strength. but then he saw his eye. it turned into a beautiful ocean blue that didn’t match with his other chocolate eye. and then he knew, he knew that the time had come once again.

he lowered himself onto his knees slowly, with george’s limp body resting in his arms. he was reacting the same way as sapnap, lost in a dazebut with no clear injuries on the outside. 

“dream...” george whispered lowly, his body was numbing and he could feel himself loosing consciousness. it was a rather strange feeling; the inside of his brain heavy like it was being flooded with warm water. he felt the smallest tint of pain, for a split second, afterwards completely lost control of his body. dream looked down at his lover, tears forming at the corner of his eyes as his hand ran through the brunet’s clumped and stained hair. 

_ “a what?” _

_ “cerebral hemorrhage.”  _

his grip on george tightened, ensuing a suffocating hold on the boy’s body. dream wasn’t going to let go — not for a second, not ever. he wouldn’t let george disappear like everyone else, to be wiped off the face of the earth as if he never existed. dream tried to express this to george by cupping his face, repositioning him so he was more comfortable against dream. but george couldn’t move. his head was locked and his eyes fixated on dream - he would be the last thing george saw in this life. 

“my intention from the start was to always love you until my last breathe. i don’t care how many lives i have to go through, i will always find my way back to you. i will look for you and i will love you no matter what.”

the tears slipped past dream’s sockets, quietly trailing down his face until they dripped off his chin and onto george’s cheek. 

_ “you need to tell him.” _

_ “no...no way.” _

_ “dream—“ _

_ “no no fucking way! don’t you dare tell him, he’s suffered enough. he’s ok now, he’s been happier than i’ve ever seen him be. i won’t let him suffer anymore, he’ll stress until the day he dies. i will take care of him, and i will be right by his side until the end wilbur. i promise, so please, don’t interfere.” _

wilbur’s head fell against niki’s shoulder, both watching as eret’s body shriveled into nothing but red petals that impatiently sprung into the air. 

“wil, it’s over right?” niki gasped out. her arm wrapped itself around wilbur’s, leaning into him for support as his head rested against her shoulder. 

“yes darling, it’s over for sure.” 

“so then why are we disappearing?” niki choked out. and she was right. 

wilbur looked down at his legs, seeing them start to fall apart into nothing. his eyes watered for the first time during this whole battle and he turned to face niki, placing a hand on her rosy cheek.

“it’s ok my lady, it’s over now.” 

he leaned in to close the space between them, and their lips brushed but did not completely connect. the world was unfair in that way, stealing a one in a lifetime kiss from two people saying their goodbyes. 

dream didn’t dare look back, hearing the wind pick up what was now his friends spirits, them too traveling to the shining moon in charge of all their doom. 

“do you remember when we first met?” dream started, caressing george’s cheek with his finger. 

“not in this life, our first one. when you were injured and i took you back with me. you were such a hothead, but im glad i saved you.” he started to choke with every word that came out of his mouth. what got him going was how george’s eyes teared up as well, but the brunet couldn’t say or move anything. 

_ ‘how cruel. at least let me hug him.’  _

“or the time you almost fell into that ravine. and when we danced together at that festival. even that time we saw the world from the top of the building we were staying at. i remember george, i remember everything about us, our entire story and existence. i remember...so please, don’t leave. don’t leave me alone here i don’t want you to go.” dream cried out. he started crying hysterically now, holding georges body down against the universes pull. the body in his arms started to morph into an opaque image, it’s opacity increasing against dream’s resistant pulls.

_ ‘i remember. i know it all once again. i’m gonna miss you for now. but i know i’ll see you momentarily’  _

george cracked a smile, his hand lifting to touch dream’s face. the slender fingers grabbed at nothing though aimed to touch dream’s cheek. the blonde was dematerializing at the same pace as his lover. 

george used the last seconds they had to place a small kiss on dream’s cheek, the blonde smiling in return as he wrapped himself around george one last time. 

‘i’ll see you on the other side’

“i’ll see you on the other side”

———

“do you remember now? we’ve met before...i’m sure of it.”

“have we? i don’t recall...”

———

“your name is george, right?”

“yeah...clay?”

———

“i’m scared dream.”

“it’s ok, i’m here with you.”

———

“i have this blooming feeling of love for you.”

“me? why me?”

———

“fuck you, piss off.”

“gladly.”

———

the world becomes empty when you lose the reason to live. it hinders you from feeling —wanting. the hardships you face with society reflects off the hardships you face in your own life. there will always be a thick piece of glass separating you from your life goal, your soulmate, your rewards and desires.

now you just need to find a way to break through.

and i believe, you will find your passions once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so unbelievably hard to write. also for any confusion: george indeed died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and so that seals the fate for dream and the other who were still alive. 
> 
> one more to go...


	18. two-faced lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> happy bad ending

_ ‘i’m not sure why i am writing this down, but i feel the need to for some form of closure. today is ******** and tomorrow we will be attempting to kill the empire.’  _

george felt his lightweight body against the itchy fabric underneath. there was a period of time where he couldn’t hear a single decible and only saw a pitch black universe where he floated in the vast space. his body was abandoned, with sticky webs curling around his most precious organs — most graciously, his heart. 

so this was what death felt like. george didn’t know how long he was alone, let alone how much more time he’d spend curled up like a fetus in the womb. seconds that felt like stretched hours, a warmness that was chilling at the same time. so many opposites that contradicted each other all while george fought to get to the other side. 

the other side, he didn’t know what it was. this idea imbedded into his head, stitched up against the fabric that was his brain. unlike regular school material, this wasn’t a concept just anyone could understand. it takes experience, mostly, to know the depths of dying. and like the ocean, george was the diver.

_ ‘ we’re living in a run down complex. we can successfully make our plans here...i think we’re ready, but frankly, i’m terrified.’ _

the itchy ground, which he mistook for fabric, was sprouting grass. its vibrant colors blended with the world’s aesthetic, george’s consciousness displeased with colors it could not tell apart. his eyes opened cautiously at first, quickly shutting when the sunlight attacked. it was harmless in nature — unless told otherwise, opening its arms to welcome george’s spirit. reluctantly he opened his eyes again, this time quickly adjusting to its blinding existence. something was drastically different about it, a matte but textured color george had only seen twice. his hand reflexively reached to touch his face, feeling for the glasses that weren’t there. surely he was seeing these colors with his own eyes.

the weight of his body was oddly but progressively getting heavier. george sat up using his arms for support till he could fully see the view in front of him. his eyes widened with threats to fall out of their sockets. 

before him was a sight like no other; a crystal clear lake that reflected everything over and around it, unnatural acacia trees that were probably a hundred times his size, and in the background, lengthy hills and mountains of rich green tinted grass. underneath him was a more yellow, mixed with green, grass — he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference before. 

george’s leg starts to materialize on the ground, pixel-like specks uniting to form his left foot. though odd, it wasn’t phenomenal to him. he sits there, aimlessly looking until he can fully maneuver his legs, and pushes himself on his feet. 

for the first time since he awoke he took the time to observe, taking in all his physical features as if customizing himself. george was still wearing the baby blue t-shirt given to him whiles ago except clean and stain-free. his dress pants no longer grazed roughly against his legs, instead soft and comforting. in this world, things were almost opposite. george would learn from every visit. everytime he came and left he’d backup all the information stored, feeling as if he never truly left the other side. 

the other side, it goes like this:

a world balanced between two existing realms. neither good nor bad. balanced, in-between, centered, whatever you want to call it. george saw it as a waiting room, because everytime they would come back, they’d almost leave right after. that was an exaggeration, it was more like a crane game. a system where they were entities in a purgatory waiting to be thrown into a new life. yes, george finally found the correct definition. purgatory, the in-between of good and evil. the place that wasn’t exactly home, but rather temporary. the airport of real life. it was a bizarre way of explaining such a thing, but after coming in and out you’d expect for them to already have a basic understanding. 

_ ‘if we die, that’s it. all for nothing at all. but alternatively, we’d be free of our struggles. death would be our sweet escape’  _

instead of just aimlessly walking, george decided to head opposite for the oak tree clearing. he loved the way the water glistened, wanting so badly to jump in andnot giving a single shit about getting wet. in this world, you can do just about anything with no real punishment or reward. but george had more important things to focus on, such as finding his friends. 

the sighs of frustration he let out could almost echo across the deserted land around him. his breathing was the only thing audible to his ears. even though there were humongous trees around him, animals in the far distance, and grass under his boots; he couldn’t seem to hear a thing. not the crunching of grass, not the rustling of leaves, and definitely not the voices of his friends. god he missed them. of course he knew he’d see them again, but reuniting hit an emotional side of george. he’d kill to feel dream’s arms around him. 

he waited, halting to a stop when his ears finally picked up vibrations.

_ ‘i had a vision where in this vast land of scenery like no where else, was my lover...’ _

george turned slowly with wide eyes, his hair flowing with the wind that whooshed in reply to his plea. he could hear footsteps hitting against the grass that got louder, closer to where he was standing. 

_ ‘where nature only responds when the glass is tilting’  _

a shadow emerged from the top of a small arching hill. george could feel his eyes water like hoses beginning to let loose. he told himself this was like any other time, that once again it was just the aftermath they’ve had for countless times. 

_ ‘ and before me was my lover’ _

the blonde, who usually had his mask on, moved it to the side of his face so his eyes could look directly into george’s. he grinned widely, crossing his arms. 

_ ‘my dream’  _

“hey gogy!” 

george stared intently, not moving a muscle out of pure shock. 

“come over here already jeez!” dream followed with a laugh. he slowly raised his arms, a gap wide enough to welcome the brunet who hadn’t moved an inch.

_ ‘who waited for me with open arms’ _

“look, we’re all ok, it’s all ok.” 

george didn’t fail to notice the blob of shadows emerging behind dream. 

_ ‘my friends, my comrades, who fight alongside me in this war.’  _

no doubt about it, before him stood everyone. sapnap who with the widest smile ever jumped around with punz and tommy. tubbo who stood shyly next to wilbur while he embraced niki. eret towering over everyone while interacting the most with fundy. and callahan who held a sleeping ant in his arms. 

george really couldn’t deny the tears that rolled down his face. dream chuckled and ran down the small hill towards george, until stopping abruptly in front of the flustered boy. he extended one arm out, palm upwards, encouraging george to take it.

“come on, let’s continue this journey.” 

_ ‘and no matter the outcome, a million times i would’ve said yes.’  _

george didn’t waste another second. he reached with his left hand to intertwine his fingers with dream’s. surely enough, the glass was broken. he nodded, crying enthusiastic tears with the hope he could feel this way forever. no matter how many times they died, they would always find their way back to each other. enemies or friends, they’d become part of the same team. it was a curse unknowingly harmful, but at the same time apleasing miracle. 

and with that dream turned swiftly, running back up the hill with george trailing behind him. hands glued, fingers intertwined. george wasn’t going to let go, let alone take this moment for granted. 

their beginnings separated from their queues. the life they lived before resurrection would never live up to any that came after it. and so that was one face followed by multiple personas. two-faced lovers, though given a negative definition, is most directly portrayed by this phenomenon they called love. 

the glass can be broken. in the end, you’ll always tilt the right glass over. 

to george and dream, this was a routine. because after some time, the sky threw a white beam down on them. and once again, it had started. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gosh this work was a rollercoaster. thank you so much for all the support. this work is a basis for something i plan for publish in the future. obviously with different character names and a more detailed and complex story.  
> i had been thinking about writing a prequel to this specific story where it goes through how george and dream met originally before all this madness. not sure if that is something you guys would find interesting :D  
> again, thank you for the major support.  
> this isn’t the end, i will continue writing short fics and possibly a continuation of this.  
> sincerely me <3


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